Daily US Times: Former US First Lady Michelle Obama has said she is suffering from “low-grade depression” because of the racial injustice, pandemic, and the “hypocrisy” of the Trump administration.

She said managing “emotional highs and lows” required “knowing yourself” and “the things that do bring you joy”.

Mrs Obama said she has had difficulties with her sleep and exercise routine.

“I’m waking up in the middle of the night because I’m worrying about something or there’s a heaviness,” she said during the second episode of her eponymous podcast.

“These are not, they are not fulfilling times, spiritually,” Mrs Obama said while she was interviewing US journalist Michele Norris.

“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.”

Mrs Obama also said it is “exhausting” to be “waking up to yet another story of a black person or black man somehow being dehumanised, or killed, or hurt, or falsely accused of something.”

She said: “And it has led to a weight that I haven’t felt in my life, in a while.”

However, she said “schedule is key” to managing these feelings – and that maintaining a routine has become even more important to her in this pandemic situation.

For the first episode of the podcast she interviewed her husband former President Barack Obama, who was in office before Donald Trump.

Some mental health advocacy groups welcomed the former First Lady’s comments.

A tweet from the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) reads: “Thank you for talking openly about how you are managing your depression @MichelleObama.”

“Talking about how we manage our mental health, especially at times like these, reduces stigma and creates a more inclusive society.”

Speaking to former NPR host and Washington Post columnist, Michelle Norris, the Michelle Obama said during her family’s time in the White House, which she described as being “outside the norm of regular life”, it was important for her to stick to a schedule. And it’s something she has used during the current pandemic too, particularly in lockdown.

Being asked if slowing down during the coronavirus lockdown has been good for her children, Obama described it as an “unburdening” for them.

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