Megan Thee Stallion knows what it means to be in a bad place mentally — so she wants to create a safe space for youth to come forward about their struggles.
Earlier this month, the Houston rapper partnered with the California Department of Public Health for the Never a Bother campaign, which is a new youth suicide prevention initiative that increases awareness and support for California's youth.
For Megan, mental health has always been an important topic of conversation. When she thinks back to her own darkest moments, having a sense of community was everything.
"As somebody who has had some very dark thoughts... at some of the worst times in my life, I just felt like I had a few good people around me who made me feel loved, who made me feel heard, who made me feel like they cared," the "Mamushi" rapper, 29, tells PEOPLE exclusively.
She continues, "Even when I felt like I was being difficult, when I felt like, 'Oh, I'm such a burden. I don't even feel like talking about this to anybody. It would just be better if life was just one way. Life would be better without me.'"
After taking some time, Megan realized that those intrusive thoughts weren't true — and she's grateful that her inner circle was always looking out for her.
"If I could do that for somebody else or if I could help somebody be directed toward those type of resources, I definitely want to do it because I know how it feels and it is not a good place to be in. S -
o if I can help, that's what I got to do," the "HISS" rapper says.
She also began to notice that through social media, so many young people have access to "crazy s---" that can make them "depressed."
To protect her mental health, the "Sweetest Pie" rapper started going to therapy and found solace at the gym.
"I started working out really hard. The gym really helped me create a space where I could take out my aggression in a healthy way and just be able to zone out and clear my mind," she says.
"I felt like I didn't even know where to start working on myself. So after I did therapy, I felt like, man, I got to do something else. And just the gym, the gym really helped me out," she says.
On Thursday, Megan released a Prime Video documentary titled In Her Words, which gives fans an inside look at her rise and personal struggles.
"I was such in a dark place, people couldn't even ask me how I was doing without me bursting into tears. I struggled a lot with my mental health," she says. "I feel like people watching this are going to see... if my favorite artists could go through something like this and get through it and come out on the other end, I could do it too."
For anyone struggling with their mental health, two resources available are 988 and Teen Line, which anyone can call or text to speak with a trained counselor who can help.
Related Articles
Follow Us