<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

Dealing With Feelings of Cynicism and Hopelessness <\/span> <\/h2>\n

\nIn her new book, Obama touched again on how a \u201clow-grade form\u201d of depression cropped up in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, driven largely by an overwhelming sense of cynicism and hopelessness about the state of the world.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\nCompounding this, she added, was the fact that former President Donald Trump\u2019s election seemed like a rebuke of the work that she and husband former President Barack Obama had put in over the previous eight years.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt had not been enough. We ourselves were not enough. The problems were too big. The holes were too giant, impossible to fill,\u201d Obama wrote in her book.\n<\/p>\n

\nThough low-grade depression is not a clinical diagnosis, Obama discussed in her podcast that she felt a \u201cweight\u201d on her, and sometimes felt too \u201clow\u201d to even exercise or engage in self-care.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\nThese symptoms are similar to those of depression, which can include:<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n
• Persistent empty mood\u00a0<\/li>\n
• Feeling hopeless<\/li>\n
• Feelings of worthlessness\u00a0<\/li>\n
• Feeling irritable<\/li>\n
• Losing interest in pleasurable activities and hobbies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  \nObama wasn't alone in managing poor mental health during that time period. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) found that during the first year of the pandemic, anxiety and depression prevalence rose by 25% worldwide.<\/span> On top of that, following the death of George Floyd, nearly half of Black Americans said they felt angry and sad, and one review estimated 900,000 would have screened positive for depression in the week after Floyd\u2019s death.<\/span>\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

  \nCoping with the compounding stressors of 2020 has been difficult, and many are still struggling to heal. For some, that may mean seeking help from a therapist\u2014the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the percentage of adults who sought therapy increased by nearly 2.5% between 2019 and 2021.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

  \nFor Obama, facing this skepticism and fear about the world and all of its many issues meant embracing community, and most importantly differences.\n<\/p>\n

  \n\u201cI try to keep myself open to people to not get comfortable in my sameness,\u201d Obama told Health<\/em>. \u201cPart of what makes us afraid in this society and these times is, \u2018I don't know you, and if you don't look like me, you didn't grow up like me, you don't believe in the same political views, then I am afraid of you because you're different.\u2019 I try to value differentness as a strength.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

  <\/span> <\/p>\n

  Using Community to Combat Fear and Uncertainty <\/span> <\/h2>\n

  \nThough Obama has relied on community to help her \u201cstay open and feel less afraid in a world that seems to be getting smaller and smaller,\u201d she also admits that it takes practice to embrace others\u2019 differences and get to a place where you feel comfortable relying on and building community with other people.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

  \n\u201cYou have to search it out,\u201d Obama said, regarding building a community of your own and not waiting for one to come to you. \u201cI think the same thing is true for anyone out at any stage of their life feeling othered and alone and different, is to find your kitchen table,\u201d she added.\n<\/p>\n

  \nObama speaks more about finding your own \u201ckitchen table\u201d in her book. It\u2019s the idea that, rather than internalizing your self-doubts, anxieties, and feelings that nothing can get done, you can share those feelings with other similar-minded people, and embrace them as positive aspects.\n<\/p>\n

  \n\u201cIt\u2019s worth working to find people with whom you can remove your armor and shed your worries,\u201d Obama writes in her book. \u201cYou can show your unbridled anger, your fear of injustices and slights. Because you can\u2019t hold it all in. You can\u2019t process the challenges of being different all on your own. It\u2019s just too big, too painful, to keep inside.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

  \nIn addition to her own close friendships, Obama also talks about building community with neighbors, the people she meets on book tours, or the children she\u2019ll encounter while visiting schools while traveling.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

  \nOf course, it\u2019s more complicated for Obama to connect with community members as a public figure who is \u201cbubble wrapped\u201d\u2014it means she has to \u201cbe more intentional about it in the work\u201d that she does.\n<\/p>\n

  \nBut Obama also reminds readers that, in seeking help from your community, you have to take care of yourself too.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

  \n\u201cWe\u2019re going to be at our best when we\u2019re taking care of ourselves\u2014that spans everything from getting enough sleep and exercise to talking with someone who can help you sort through life\u2026 maybe a partner, a friend, or a therapist,\u201d Obama said. \u201cIf we\u2019re doing those things, we\u2019re going to be able to see a little more clearly, and feel what others are going through a little more deeply.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

  \nBecause anxieties big and small probably won\u2019t be going away anytime soon, Obama\u2019s combination of caring for ourselves and the community around us could be one possible antidote to the fear, hopelessness, and self-doubt that we all feel sometimes. Community and self-care \u201cgo hand in hand,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

  \n\u201cTapping into something larger than yourself\u2014volunteering at the homeless shelter, making some phone calls for a political candidate, going to the church picnic, even picking up trash on the sidewalk,\u201d Obama said, \u201cthose things can be so good to get us out of our own heads.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  From the COVID-19 pandemic to political divisions, it\u2019s easy to feel fearful or uncertain about the state of the world\u2014even if you\u2019re former first lady Michelle Obama.\u00a0 \u201cFear can help you,\u201d Obama told Health in a new interview. \u201cIt's an important emotion, but it can keep you stuck.\u201d Obama has previously been candid about her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[649,410],"tags":[650,116],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17071"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}