During the second episode of her podcast, Michelle Obama revealed that she has been struggling with “low-grade depression” due to the coronavirus pandemic, the racism she sees around the U.S., and the actions of Donald Trump’s administration, The Guardian reported.
“I know that I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression,” 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.”
The former first lady spoke of the “emotional highs and lows” she has been experiencing as well as the strain of seeing Black people “dehumanized” and harmed amid the civil unrest that continues to grip the country following George Floyd’s death.
“I have to say, that waking up to the news, waking up to how this administration has or has not responded, waking up to, yet another, story of a Black man or a Black person somehow being dehumanized, or hurt or killed, or, falsely accused of something, it is exhausting.”
Obama’s comments received a positive response from the American Association of People with Disabilities, which praised her for being open about her psychological health struggles and her approach to managing them.
As reported by CNN , Obama is not alone . A recent Census Bureau survey found that one-in-three Americans are experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression, more than three-fold the number from a similar 2019 survey.
The publication claims that the social distancing encouraged to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is cutting people off from their social circles and increasing the feelings of loneliness that can have damaging effects on mental health.
More concerning is a recent study that found that most coronavirus survivors suffer from at least one psychological disorder, CTV News reported. In particular, the study found that anxiety was the more prevalent disorder, followed by insomnia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The researchers behind the alarming findings suggested that inflammation, as well as social isolation, could be significant factors driving the post-treatment mental disturbances.
According to Forbes , the pandemic is driving severe mental health issues, which the publication claims are, in turn, exhausting psychologists and psychiatrists. Psychiatrist Dr. Danielle Hairston, who works in the emergency room at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., spoke of her struggles with anxiety and insomnia due to the surge in patients she is treating. She also promoted a destigmatization of psychological fitness issues, including among physicians.