The former first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, revealed in her new book “The Light We Carry” that she never loved her appearance and constantly battled “panic mind.”
According to The Guardian, on Tuesday, November 15th, 2022, Michelle Obama talks about how to manage the “panic mind” that everyone experiences in their lives at some point. She compares it to having an unwanted life partner.
Michelle Obama’s height is ‘a concern
As former first lady Michelle Obama wrote: “I have been living with my paranoid mind for 58 years, and it never stops bothering me or sees me as weak.”
“In the mornings,” she said, “I sometimes have negative thoughts about my appearance when I turn on the bathroom light and see myself in the mirror. It feels like it would bebest to just turn off the light again.”
In her book, Michelle Obama said that she has always been self-conscious about her figure, specifically her height of 180 cm. She recalled being “put in the back row” by a teacher in school, an experience which left “the smallest core of self-loathing” and stunted her ability to develop confidence.
Michelle also confessed that she was struggling with a “limited form” of depression during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I kept up the same work – giving speeches at virtual voter registration drives and supporting worthwhile causes, for instance – but I wasn’t doing well mentally. I couldn’t seem to achieve my goals or make a real difference.”
Although she eventually agreed to speak at the 2020 national convention for the Democrats, she first delayed responding when they originally called her. In her speech, she referred to Donald Trump as “the wrong president.”
The First Lady’s frustration
In her book, Michelle Obama stated that every time she mulled over her speech for the conference, she felt “helpless.” She went on to say how “frustrated and saddened” she was by everything we as a nation have lost.
She also penned, “I suddenly felt despair and my mind lurched into a dark place. I struggled to maintain optimism or think rationally about the future.”
She continued, ” Accepting my powerlessness and resigning myself to the idea that nothing could be done about huge problems and concerns felt worse than anything.”
The final pages of the book discuss 2021’s attack on the Capitol, which Michelle says was “the most frightening thing [she] ever witnessed”.
Her first book, Becoming, has been published in 50 languages and sold more than 17 million copies worldwide. It is anticipated that The Light We Carry will be a bestseller as well.
Looking back at 2020, Michelle was named America’s Most Admired Woman in a Gallup poll for the third year straight.
