I was very excited to hear Michelle Obama’s first podcast. The former First Lady’s guest was her husband, President Barack Obama.
My biggest takeaway? These two people really like each other. So nice to hear them talk about life.
Michelle Obama: “One of the reasons I fell in love with you.”
President Obama: “It was just my looks.”
Michelle Obama: “You’re cute, but you know. One of the reasons I fell in love with you is that you’re guided by the principle that we are each other’s brothers and sisters’ keepers.”
Ahhh. I love that.
It is, however, Michelle Obama’s second podcast that is getting all the attention. While talking to journalist Michele Norris, the former First Lady said, “These are not, they are not fulfilling times, spiritually. 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.”
Low grade depression… What is it?
USA Today talked to some experts.
Dr. Vaile Wright is with the American Psychological Association. She says, “Low-grade depression is not an official diagnosis. It is probably closest to what we refer to as subclinical depression, which refers to a person who is experiencing depressive symptoms but does not meet the criteria for a depressive disorder.”
If that’s the case, these days I think we all have it.
Michelle Obama says she’s “waking up in the middle of the night because [she’s] worrying about something or there’s a heaviness.”
So, what do you do?
Exercise, meditation, and mindfulness are a few of Dr. Wright’s suggestions. There are others in that USA Today piece, too.
As for Michelle Obama, she offered this up on Instagram following that podcast.
The Michelle Obama Podcast is on Spotify. It’s worth your time.