Michelle Obama reveals she has 'low-grade depression', but 'schedule is key'

Former First lady of the United States Michelle Obama has opened up about her experience with the unprecedented turn of events in the recent days and said that she is suffering from “low-grade depression”. From COVID-19 pandemic to racial injustice in the US along with the “hypocrisy” of the US President Donald Trump’s administration, Michelle said that “there’s a heaviness” and at times, she wakes up in the middle of the night, worried. The former US First Lady said that dealing with “emotional highs and lows” required “knowing yourself” and also the “things that do bring you joy”.

“I know that I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression,” Michelle Obama said. “Not just because of the quarantine, but because of the racial strife, and just seeing this administration, watching the hypocrisy of it, day in and day out, is dispiriting.”

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In the latest podcast with Michele Norris, Michelle talked about several challenges that most people have been feeling since the beginning of this year. She said that these are “not fulfilling times, spiritually” and is “exhausting” to learn about another incident of racial injustice in the world that includes “black man or a black person somehow being dehumanised, or hurt, or killed, or falsely accused of something”. Michelle Obama added, “it has led to a weight that I haven't felt in my life, in a while.”

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Apart from the emotional struggles with the recent events, Michelle said: “schedule is the key” to manage the feelings. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and practising social distancing by staying indoors, the former US First lady said that during this time, it has become more essential for her to maintain a routine. This episode with Norris came after Obama interviewed her husband and former US President, Barack Obama.

Michelle and Barack Obama discuss array of topics

Michelle Obama launched the new podcast with husband and former US President, Barack Obama as her first guest. In the premiere episode, the former US first couple shared a candid conversation about community building, the love that powers relationships, and their life after White House. They also touched upon other issues including the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.

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