Megan Thee Stallion knows what it means to be in a bad place mentally – so she wants to create a safe space for young people to come forward about their issues.

Earlier this month, the Houston rapper teamed up with the California Department of Public Health for the Never a Bother campaign, a new youth suicide prevention initiative that raises 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 someone who has had really dark thoughts… at one of the worst times in my life, I felt like I had some good people around me who made me feel loved, who made me feel felt heard, who made me feel like they cared,” the “Mamushi” rapper, 29, tells PEOPLE exclusively.

She continues, “Even when I felt like I was a burden, when I thought, ‘Oh, I’m such a burden. I don’t even feel like talking to anyone about this. It would just be better if life would be better.’ There’s only one way life would be better without me.'”

After taking some time, Megan realized that these intrusive thoughts weren’t true — and she’s grateful that her inner circle always looked out for her.

“If I could do that for someone else or if I could help someone get to those types of resources, I definitely want to do that because I know what it feels like and it’s not a good place to be in. So if I that can help, that’s what I have to do,” says the “HISS” rapper.

She also started noticing that so many young people have access to “crazy things…” through social media that can make them “depressed.”

To protect her mental health, the “Sweetest Pie” rapper sought therapy and found solace in the gym.

“I started training really hard. The gym really helped me create a space where I could express my aggression in a healthy way and just rest and clear my head,” she says.

“I felt like I didn’t even know where to start working on myself. So after I did the therapy, I felt like I had to do something else. And just the gym, the gym really helped me,” she says. say.

On Thursday, Megan released a Prime Video documentary titled In her wordsgiving fans a behind-the-scenes look at her rise and personal struggles.

“I was in such a dark place that people couldn’t even ask me how I was doing without bursting into tears. I struggled a lot with my mental health,” she says. “I feel like people who see this will see… if my favorite artists could go through something like this, get through it and come out the other side, I could do it too.”

For anyone struggling with their mental health, there are two resources available: 988 and Teen Line, which anyone can call or text to speak to a trained counselor who can help.