Former US First Lady Michelle Obama has revealed she is suffering from a "low-grade depression."
In an article published by CNN, Michelle said the current Coronavirus pandemic, race relations and the political strife in the US is to blame.
"I'm waking up in the middle of the night because I'm worried about something or there's heaviness," she said.
She was speaking on 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. It's a familiar feeling for many Americans,” she said.
She also discussed the racial reckoning in America following the death of George Floyd this summer.
“It is ‘exhausting’ to be ‘waking up to yet another story of a Black man or a Black person somehow being dehumanised, or hurt, or killed, or falsely accused of something,” she said.
Michelle discussed her frustration with people who refuse to wear masks saying it is disheartening to see so many people who have grown tired of staying at home because the virus didn't impact them.
“There's almost like there's a limit to our sacrifice and it was about a month and then we just got tired of the virus," she said.
While emphasising on how America has been through tough times before, Michelle said the Covid-19 has presented a unique moment in history.
“We are living through something that no one in our lifetimes has lived through,” she said.
She later on her Instagram page assured her over 40.8 million followers that she was fine and no need to worry.’
"I just wanted to check in with you all because a lot of you have been checking in on me after hearing this week's podcast. First things first—I'm doing just fine. There's no reason to worry about me," she said.
Michelle said it was okay to acknowledge the world around can have an effect on each one’s well-being.
"The idea that what this country is going through shouldn't have any effect on us—that we all should just feel OK all the time—that just doesn't feel real to me. So I hope you all are allowing yourselves to feel whatever it is you're feeling,” she said.
Since leaving the White House, Obama has pursued multiple projects, including publishing a bestselling memoir and releasing a documentary film series on Netfix. Her Spotify podcast is her latest creative venture, focusing on "meaningful relationships and conversations."
Her first guest was her husband, Barack, and upcoming voices will include her mother and brother, late-night host Conan O'Brien, and top Obama White House adviser Valerie Jarrett.
According to the article, a Census Bureau survey found that one in three Americans are reporting symptoms of depression or anxiety, more than three times the rate from a similar survey conducted in the first half of 2019.
And because one of the best ways to fight coronavirus is through social distancing, people have gone long stretches of time without seeing their friends or family, exacerbating the already widespread problem of loneliness, which can be deeply harmful to one's mental health.
