There are many forms of depression. There are some people who are experiencing situational depression due to what state the world is in.
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic that seemingly has no end in sight, Black people had to witness another senseless killing of an innocent Black person by the police.
In addition to having to quite literally organize and protest just to get the men responsible for his murder arrested, they were met by a shocking response from police departments and the administration who, many times, met peaceful protesters of all colors with unnecessary violence.
This physical pandemic, along with the longstanding racial pandemic, can deeply affect the mental health of anyone with a beating heart.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama took to her podcast to get candid about her recent feelings.
‘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,’ she said about dealing with ‘low-grade depression’ while speaking with Michele Norris, the former anchor of NPR’s All Things Considered.
She is transparent in blaming Donald Trump’s response to everything going on with how she’s feeling.
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‘I don’t think I’m unusual, in that. But I’d be remiss to say that 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. 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. And it has led to a weight that I haven’t felt in my life, in a while.’
It’s gotten to the point where she has struggled with sleeping.
She went on to say that she deals with the depression by keeping a routine and exercising regularly.
Michelle isn’t alone in her struggle as many other people have expressed the same feelings.