The internet went wild when Michelle Obama admitted on her new podcast that she was suffering from “low-grade” depression. What do we all feel about our current culture of anxiety and depression? Are people ashamed? Is the stigma gone? Are there differences among white women and Black women? And how does that wellness industry fit into all of this?

### Sources:

[https://www.vulture.com/2017/01/black-ish-recap-season-3-episode-13.html](https://www.vulture.com/2017/01/black-ish-recap-season-3-episode-13.html)

[https://www.instagram.com/theviragoproject/](https://www.instagram.com/theviragoproject/)

[https://thelovelandfoundation.org/](https://thelovelandfoundation.org/)

[https://therapyforblackgirls.com/](https://therapyforblackgirls.com/)

[https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/06/us/michelle-obama-coronavirus-depression-trnd/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/06/us/michelle-obama-coronavirus-depression-trnd/index.html)

[https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/08/us/michelle-obama-depression-black-women-wellness-trnd/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/08/us/michelle-obama-depression-black-women-wellness-trnd/index.html)

[https://howyouheal.com/whitewashing-wellness/](https://howyouheal.com/whitewashing-wellness/)

[https://www.athleteally.org/decolonizing-fitness/](https://www.athleteally.org/decolonizing-fitness/)

[https://www.decolonizingwellnessto.com/home-1](https://www.decolonizingwellnessto.com/home-1)

[https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/06/12/mental-health-george-floyd-census/?arc404=true](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/06/12/mental-health-george-floyd-census/?arc404=true)

--### Prompts

Want to talk about this with your friends? Use our conversation prompts to get you going:

1. Look at the statistics. Black Americans and other people of color are leading the historic rise in depression and anxiety. From a narrative perspective, why do you think that is?2. What are any differences along race or culture lines do you see when it comes to depressionand anxiety?3. Did you grow up thinking about depression or anxiety at all? [Versus younger generations] Do you think there are differences along class lines? Race? Why?4. How do we navigate situational depression from clinical depression?* Have you ever been depressed or anxious? How do you cope?5. How do you define the wellness industry? Self-care? Do differences emerge when you think about race or class?6. What does the wellness industry need to do to decolonize? What does decolonize mean to you?

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