Former First Lady Michelle Obama Suffering From “Low-Grade Depression” Due to COVID, Other Concerns

On a hot Wednesday in August, former first lady Michelle Obama revealed on The Michelle Obama Podcast that she was suffering from “low-grade depression” because of not just the pandemic, but also due to political tensions and race relations in the United States.

“I keep waking up in the middle of the night because I am worried about different things or there is a heaviness somewhere,” she said. “I keep trying to make sure that I get a workout in, but I have to say there have been periods throughout this quarantine where I have simply felt too low to do it.”

The feelings that Michelle Obama are facing are not out-of-the-ordinary. In fact, there are millions of her fellow Americans who are feeling similar anxiety.

Indeed, there is a Census Bureau survey where one in three Americans are reporting that they feel depressed or extremely anxious due to COVID. Moreover, this is a rate that is more than three times as prevalent as it was in the first part of 2019. Of course, most people realize that social distancing is the best way to fight the coronavirus, but this does not come without a cost. Many individuals are going through a widespread problem of loneliness and this can seriously harm someone’s mental health.

Michelle also took the opportunity to discuss some of the racial tensions that had occurred after the passing of George Floyd on May 25. She said that it was “exhausting” and that she was upset at “waking up to yet another story of a Black man or a Black individual who was being dehumanized, killed, hurt, or falsely accused of something.”

Michelle Obama also talked about her frustration with people who didn’t want to wear their mask.

“Americans seem to have a limit to their sacrifice, and then it was about a month and a lot of people just got tired of the virus,” she said. “That’s been disheartening to see that and to see people that are tired of staying at home because this virus just didn’t impact them.”

“Yes, we’ve been in tough times before,” Michelle continued, “but this is definitely a unique moment in history. We are literally living through something that no one in our lifetimes has ever lived through. She also assured her almost 41 million Instagram followers that there was no reason to worry about her and she was “doing just fine.”
Finally, she concluded by saying that she agreed that it was okay to admit that there are times where the world can affect your well-being. “You can allow yourselves to feel whatever it is you’re feeling.”