Michelle Obama Is Offering ‘Mental Health Support’ to Voters

Former First Lady Michelle Obama launched When We All Vote in 2018, an initiative primarily focusing on shifting voting culture and increasing voter participation for everyone.

This year, the initiative has joined forces with the mental health platform Headspace to support voters’ mental well-being throughout the 2024 election season. This partnership is a significant step towards ensuring voters have mental health support during this crucial time.

On Thursday, When We All Vote said in a statement, “People need mental health support during this time of uncertainty more than ever.” They based their assessment on a poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association released in May, speaking to the anxiety surrounding this election—finding that 73% of Americans are anxious about the upcoming presidential election.

The partnership between When We All Vote and Headspace has created a “voter registration portal” complemented by an “election season survival guide.” This guide includes exercises and assessments, providing voters with the necessary tools to navigate the election season with their mental well-being in mind, like the added feature inside Headspace’s app called “Politics Without Panic.”

The ex-First Lady has expressed her fear of the outcome of the 2024 presidential election in a podcast interview with Jay Shetty, best-selling author and podcast host of On Purpose. Obama said, “I am terrified about what could possibly happen because our leaders matter, who we select matters, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit — it affects us in a way that sometimes I think people take for granted.”

In an interview with People magazine, she also shared her experience with what she called “low-grade depression” during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the death of George Floyd. The Light We Carry author said she recognized that she needed the space to process everything.

“Depression is understandable during these times. I needed to acknowledge what I was going through because a lot of times we feel like we have to cover that part of ourselves up, that we always have to rise above and look as if we’re not paddling hard underneath the water,” Michelle told People at the time.

Obama continues to advocate for mental health during these uncertain times and pushes for everyone to vote and take the future of our democracy into their own hands.