Michelle Obama has revealed that she has been dealing with depression during lockdown.
Former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama opened up on the most recent episode of her brand new eponymous podcast, revealing that she has been feeling "out of body, out of mind" and finding it difficult to sleep.
"These are not, they are not fulfilling times, spiritually," said the former FLOTUS to podcast guest US journalist Michele Norris. "I know that I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression.
"I'm waking up in the middle of the night because I'm worrying about something or there's a heaviness,” she went on.
Explaining what she feels are the reasons behind her low mood, Michelle, who is the wife of former US President Barack 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."
She added how she felt it "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."
"And it has led to a weight that I haven't felt in my life, in a while," she revealed.
The mum-of-two, who shares daughters Malia and Sasha with husband Barack, explained that she manages her feelings by keeping to a schedule and maintaining a routine.
MORE: Michelle Obama opens up on experiencing imposter syndrome
"[During the day] Barack's in his office, making calls, working on his book. I'm in my room, the girls are on their computers,” she said.
"But right around five o'clock, everybody comes out of their nooks, and, we like, do an activity, like, puzzles have become big, just just sitting and doing these thousand piece puzzles.
"The girls are just like into them, and we're all sitting on the floor, around a table where the puzzle is now permanently set up."
Michelle revealed that after dinner the family get out playing cards, as former President Barack has taught the couple’s daughter to play Spades.
"They've got a spades tournament,” she said. “So Barack has taught the girls spades, so now there's this vicious competition”.
"They wouldn't have sat down, but for this quarantine, to learn how to play a card game with their dad. They wouldn't."
Aleesha is digital shopping writer at woman&home - so whether you're looking for beauty, fashion, health or home buys, she knows all the best places to splash your cash. She earned an MA in Magazine Journalism from City, University of London in 2017 after graduating from University of Leeds in 2014 with a BA in English and Spanish (which took her to Madrid for a fun Rioja and tapas-packed year). Aleesha has worked for woman&home since 2019, when she joined the team as their digital news writer. A year on the news team gained her quick and reactive writing skills and a love for breaking stories, invaluable insight into where to get the best lifestyle releases first, an AOP awards nomination and the nickname ‘crazy watch lady’ after she became so obsessed with the royals that she followed breaking news alerts on her Apple Watch.
Before joining the woman&home team, Aleesha wrote for their sister site GoodtoKnow, where she covered celebrity news, health advice and where to snap up the cheapest lifestyle buys. With a background in beauty, Aleesha has also written for Stylist and Women’s Health where she developed an understanding into what makes a stellar product and which brands are worth paying attention to. She never leaves the house without a slick of lip balm and a good slathering of SPF, cannot live without an eyelash curler by her side and is always on the hunt for new lipsticks to add to her ‘Lipstick of the Day’ Instagram story highlight (and color-coordinated collection).
But it’s not just beauty buys Aleesha can help you with. Social media savviness, strong PR relationships and a need to stay in the know mean she’s all about the latest fashions, clever gadgets and reliable lifestyle buys too. She loves indulging in an interior craze (with a bedroom drowned in prints, plants and pink), is a regular visitor to the Missoma and Edge of Ember 'New In' pages and can’t resist the allure of a kitchen gadget—just ask her three coffee machines.
When she’s not playing around with new products and testing anything she can get her hands on, Aleesha spends most of her time with her head in a current bestseller, catching up on the latest Netflix craze with her sister, trying out new recipes, drinking wine with her bestie and (in non-COVID times) has been known to be a bit of a jetsetter amongst her friendship group. Oh and she makes the most of her Disney+ subscription by watching the Marvel films on repeat (definitely not just for Chris Evans...).
Follow her latest shopping & lifestyle advice, beauty insights and social antics on Instagram at @aleeshabadkar.
Twitter: @aleeshabadkar
LinkedIn: aleesha-badkar
Email: aleesha.badkar@futurenet.com
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