THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Megan Thee Stallion is urging you to check on your friends.

The rapper, whose offstage name is Megan Pete, is part of a new public service announcement called Seize the Awkward, a national campaign to encourage young people to talk to friends about mental health.

“It’s important that we regularly check in on our friends and family and make sure to show empathy, encouragement and love when they’re struggling,” she said in a statement. “A strong support system can make a powerful difference in someone’s life.”

Megan Thee Stallion’s involvement in the campaign may help reduce mental health stigma, Dr. Broderick Sawyer, a clinical psychologist in Louisville, Ky., told CNN.

She is “finally making healing look as cool as it should be,” Sawyer said, adding that her involvement “is forcing the conversation to go mainstream.

“Many centralizing platforms just have resources that pretend mental health is one-size-fits-all, that everyone is the same,” Sawyer said. “The truth is that people have wildly different experiences depending on their identities, and types of sociopolitical oppression they go through.”

Robert Gebbia, CEO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, told CNN that Pete’s involvement may feel more relatable as she works to reach young, marginalized people.

Pete has also touched on mental health in her music: Her website, “Bad Bitches Have Bad Days Too” gathers mental health resources in one place.

The suicide rate for children and teens ages 10 to 24 has been increasing, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“I’ve always been told I’ve gotta be strong,” Megan Thee Stallion said in a video for the campaign. “But to be everything for everybody, it wears on you.

“Reach out to a friend if you see them going through it," she added. "No matter who you are, being vulnerable is what makes us whole."

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, dial or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org for free, confidential support.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more on teen mental health.

SOURCE: CNN