Megan Thee Stallion opens up about seeking therapy after her parents died: ‘It’s okay to ask for help’
Rapper says she learned ‘it‘s okay to want to go get therapy’
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Your support makes all the difference.Megan Thee Stallion has spoken candidly about seeking therapy after the deaths of her parents and the lasting stigmas surrounding mental health in the Black community.
The rapper opened up about prioritising her mental wellbeing during an appearance on Taraji P Henson’s Facebook Watch series, Peace of Mind With Taraji, where she revealed that, “right now, mental health is more important to me than ever,” in part because of the pressures of fame.
“I have more pressure on me than I feel like I used to have... when I was Megan, I wasn’t as criticised and under such a magnifying glass as I am now,” the 26-year-old singer said.
During the interview, Megan, who was born Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, also revealed that the deaths of her parents encouraged her to seek mental health support and ask for help.
The rapper’s mother, Holly Thomas, died in March 2019 after battling brain cancer, while her father passed away when she was a teenager. She also recently lost her grandmother shortly after her mother died.
“I’ve lost both of my parents. Now I’m like: ‘Oh my gosh, who do I talk to? What do I do?’ I just started learning that it’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to want to go get therapy,” she said.
The Savage singer then addressed the stigmas surrounding mental health in the Black community, revealing that she often associated therapy with weakness growing up.
“As a Black person, and when you think of therapy you think of ‘Oh my gosh, I’m weak,’ you think of medication, and you just think the worst,” she continued, adding that the stigma was perpetuated on TV, and that “therapy wasn’t even presented in the media as something that was good”.
However, according to Megan, the conversation around mental health support is changing, as she noted that it’s becoming “safe” to ask for help.
“Now it’s becoming safe to say: ‘Alright now, there’s a little too much going on. Somebody help me,’” she said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Megan revealed that she often relies on her late mother’s voice in moments of uncertainty or when she is feeling down, and asks herself what her mom would tell her.
“Because if my mom was here, she’d be in my ear like: ‘What you doin’? You can do better than that,’” the rapper said. “I always have to keep her words in the back of my head to keep me going.”
In addition to her mother’s support, Megan also previously revealed that she is pursuing a degree in health administration because she wants to make her mom “proud”.
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