Megan Thee Stallion creates website of mental health resources for fans
Popular rapper, Megan Thee Stallion, has launched a website for her fans titled "Bad Bitches Have Bad Days Too," presumably inspired from a verse in the lyrics of her song "Anxiety."
On Sunday, a Twitter user by the name of Shea Jordan Smith shared the news, tweeting, "Megan, @theestallion, created a website that compiles a list of diverse mental health resources and is sending it out to her fans and followers. Real hot girl sh-t". Megan then went on to post the tweet on her official account.
Along with the link to the website, Smith also shared the message the artist allegedly sent to her fans, saying, "Hotties! You know how much mental wellness means to me, so I created a hub with resources that can help when you might need a hand. Head to http://badbitcheshavebaddaystoo.com now and check it out. Love y'all so much."
The website features links to numerous health-related resources, such as free therapy organizations, a national crisis text line, a suicide and crisis lifeline, and a national helpline for substance abuse and mental health administration. Therapy for black women and men, the LGBTQ Psychotherapist of Color Directory, and the Black Mental Health Resource Guide are also made available.
The rapper disclosed in October that she had begun therapy following the passing of her grandmother and both of her parents. This was revealed by her during the second season premiere of ‘Peace of Mind with Taraji’, the Facebook Watch Series.
"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," Megan said.
Megan also added that when she's going through a tough emotional phase, she sometimes pushes herself headfirst into her work and business: "I work through my emotions too. When people start to see me a lot or when my schedule gets really full, I'm probably going through something because I wanna keep my mind busy."
According to the US Department of Health and Human Resources, ‘Black Americans are 20 per cent more likely to report serious psychological distress than are White Americans, yet they are less likely to use mental health services’. East Carolina University (ECU) assistant professors Loni Crumb and Janeé Avent Harris, together with two of their peers, studied the stigmatization of mental illness and its treatment among African Americans. Black people were shown to be less likely to seek counseling due to stigma, mistrust in mental health care, and mislabeling of presenting concerns.
SAMHSA’s 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, found that Sixteen percent (4.8 million) of Black and African American people reported having a mental illness, and 22.4 percent of those (1.1 million people) reported a serious mental illness over the past year.
The survey also found that ‘Stigma and judgment prevent Black and African American people from seeking treatment for their mental illnesses’, and that ‘Blacks and African Americans believe that mild depression or anxiety would be considered “crazy” in their social circles’. Many individuals also believe it is inappropriate to discuss mental health even in the midst of immediate relatives.