This year has been incredibly rough for most Americans. This week, former First Lady Michelle Obama said she’s suffering from a “low-grade depression” because of stress from the pandemic, race relations and social justice in the US and the political strife surrounding it all, she says.
"I'm waking up in the middle of the night because I'm worrying about something or there's a heaviness," Obama said in her "The Michelle Obama Podcast" on Wednesday. "I try to make sure I get a workout in, although there have been periods throughout this quarantine, where I just have felt too low."
Obama’s podcast launched at the end of July, her episode on Wednesday was about “Protests and the Pandemic.” She told her guest she has not always felt like getting on the treadmill or waking up at a regular time each morning.
“You know, it's a direct result of just being out of, out of body, out of mind. And spiritually, these are not, they are not fulfilling times, spiritually. You know, so I, I know that I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression. 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,” Obama said on her podcast.
She then talked about how her family has tried to keep a schedule, to stop what they are doing at 5 p.m. each day and come together to “do an activity” before getting dinner and ready and sitting down as a family.
Covid-19 fatigue and a feeling of being overwhelmed is really common right now. Doctors encourage people to try little regular activities, i.e. go for a walk, sit down and have a meal, etc., to feel more in control.