Former First Lady Michelle Obama opens up about suffering from “low-grade depression” because of the Trump administration and the coronavirus quarantine in her latest podcast.
Spotify released the second episode of The Michelle Obama Podcast Wednesday, Aug. 5, where Obama had former NPR host Michele Norris as a guest. The ex-First Lady said that she has highs and lows during this quarantine, and the racial strife in the country is feeding her sad feelings.
“Seeing [President Donald Trump’s] administration, watching the hypocrisy of it day-in and day-out, is dispiriting,” Obama said. “Part of this depression is also a result of, what we’re seeing in terms of the protests, the continued racial unrest, that has plagued this country, since its birth.”
Surrendering to her feelings
Obama said that she gives in to these feelings of sadness and acknowledges the “weight” she hasn’t felt for a while. But Obama also revealed that she is heartened to see young people fighting for their beliefs and said that this is what helps her sleep at night.
“No matter how I feel or what my lull is, we are making progress. There is that truth,” Obama said.
Obama and her husband, former President Barack Obama, live a few miles away from the White House in Washington, D.C. They are in the same community as President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.
The couple remains significant Democrats and some members of the party want her to run as Joe Biden’s VP. But Obama made it clear since leaving the White House in 2016 that she will not run for public office, and that position hasn’t changed today.
Coping during the quarantine
Meanwhile, Michelle Obama told Norris that getting into a routine helps her cope during this pandemic crisis. She tries to have dinner with her family on a regular time, and it’s the one thing she looks forward to every day.
She also copes by learning to do small things and turning these into rituals, such as waxing and doing her nails. Obama said the lockdown is a great reminder that people are self-sufficient.
The former First Lady also said that she reaches out to her friends and family to stay connected. However, she turns off her phone when necessary for her mental sanity so that she won’t read the news.
“I need to just take a moment and to just not look [at my phone]. For a second.”
Michelle Obama also shared that her daughters Malia, 22, and Sasha, 19, usually sit down to play a game of cards with their father. She reveals that they wouldn’t do this under normal circumstances, but the girls were prompted to indulge their dad during the lockdown.
Image used courtesy of stock_photo_world/Shutterstock