Michelle Obama shares her experience with depression during the coronavirus pandemic and calls for more to be heard about mental illness.
Washington, DC - The coronavirus pandemic is a psychological challenge for many people.
Michelle Obama spoke of her experience with depression in lockdown.
“I had to admit what I was going through,” reveals the ex-first lady in an interview with
People
magazine
.
In the conversation she tries to dispel prejudices against depressive illnesses and to prevent stigmatization.
There is no reason to feel ashamed.
Anyone who feels they are suffering from depression should seek help.
Reason for Michelle Obama's Depression: Pandemic and Racial Conflict in the United States
Michelle Obama first spoke about her mental health problems during the pandemic last summer.
She said in her podcast that she suffered from "mild depression".
The reason for this should not only have been the corona situation in the USA, but also the racial conflicts and political unrest.
“Just to see the video by George Floyd, to experience these eight minutes.
That's a lot to bear, not to mention the fact that you're in the middle of a quarantine, ”said Michelle Obama in an interview.
In the United States, there had been increased police violence against African Americans in the past year.
George Floyd, 46, has died in a violent arrest in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A police officer had his knee pressed back on his neck for almost nine minutes.
He had previously asked several times to let him breathe.
The crime was recorded on video.
This week was the start of the trial against the white ex-police officer.
Michelle Obama: We Need to "Talk More About Mental Health"
In the USA, many people are said to be suffering from the consequences of the pandemic.
Above all, the psychological complaints are a big problem.
According to
CNN
, a survey by the Centers for Disease Control in August reported that almost 41 percent of those surveyed reported psychological problems related to the corona pandemic.
About one in three Americans said they have experienced symptoms of an anxiety disorder or depression.
“So we need to talk more about mental health.
Everyone deals with trauma, fear and other stresses differently, ”said the former first lady.
Family life of the Obamas in the pandemic: "Our children were fed up with us at some point"
Family life during the pandemic is not easy for many people.
So did the Obama family.
Due to the corona pandemic, Barack and Michelle Obama's daughters moved back home.
Malia, 22, and Sasha, 19, had actually moved out and were living in college.
On a Conan O'Brien talk show in September, Michelle Obama said she was getting tired of her children.
Sitting on top of each other in isolation is apparently not easy for the former presidential family either.
Michelle Obama is said to have tried during this time to give her two daughters courage and told them that times would be better again.
The moments in isolation should have been challenging, but also nice.
"This time has enabled us to get some stolen moments back with our girls," continues Obama: "These regained moments meant the world to us and I think they made our relationships with our children even stronger."
(Dana Popp)