Jewel explains why she put her mental health above her career: ‘I didn’t want to be a statistic’
Singer-songwriter Jewel opened up in a new interview with People magazine in which he spoke about mental health.
The 48-year-old Intuition hitmaker said she almost didn’t sign her record deal at age 15 because she wanted to avoid “a meltdown”.
The mother-of-one told the publication: “In this job, we lose more people to addiction, overdose, suicide, mental breakdowns, and I didn’t want to be a statistic.”
Opening: Singer-songwriter Jewel got candid in a new interview with People magazine, in which she opened up about mental health; seen in march
Elaborating on his mindset, he said, “My goal when I moved [of my house] at 15 was to learn a new emotional language.’
As a precocious adolescent, she added that “I knew that as much as I had a genetic heritage that could predispose me to diabetes or heart disease, I could tell that I had an emotional heritage and could predispose me to cycles of addiction and abuse.” ‘
The musical artist left home as a teenager and was homeless, living out of her car when she was discovered.
“When they discovered me, it’s funny, I almost didn’t sign my record deal because I was very aware that if you take someone with my emotional background, and God forbid, I become famous…”, she explained.
Big call: The Intuition hitmaker, 48, said she almost didn’t sign her record deal at age 15 because she wanted to avoid “a meltdown”
As a compromise, the brilliant young woman said that she made a personal agreement with herself.
“I made a deal that I would sign that contract as long as my number one job was still learning to be a complete and happy human being,” he told the outlet.
As a result, at the peak of his music career, he took a break due to needing “time to psychologically adjust to the level of fame.”
And she has spent the past seven years focused solely on her role as the mother of her 11-year-old son Kace, whom she shares with ex-husband Ty Murray.
In the sit-down chat, he posed the questions: ‘What’s the point of a race if you want to jump off a building or take your own life?
‘What’s the point of fame? What’s the point of ‘likes’ if you’re not happy and if you don’t like yourself?’
Taking action, the blonde superstar launched a campaign to combat mental health issues alongside the Inspiring Children Foundationof which he has been a part for almost two decades.
Taking to Instagram on Friday to reflect on the recent suicide of former Ellen Show DJ and dancer tWitch, she said: “This is exactly why we started the #NotAloneChallenge.”
‘People who smile can suffer too and we need more than just raising awareness. We have to offer a variety of comprehensive tools because we don’t [it’s] one size fits all when it comes to mental health.’
Standing in front of a Christmas tree, he began the clip by saying, “I was very saddened to learn of the passing of Stephen Boss.”
Industry risk: Jewel told the publication, “In this job, we lose more people to addiction, overdose, suicide, mental breakdowns, and I didn’t want to be a statistic”; seen in 2017 in New York
In a conversation with People, Jewel said: “We really wanted to launch this campaign over the holidays to remind people that they’re not alone.”
‘It is not enough to create awareness. We have to offer people solutions and that’s my favorite part of the #NotAloneChallenge, is that they get to see resources that are free, available and proven to work.’
The star’s latest musical effort, an album called Freewheelin’ Woman, is out now.
“When I finally felt it was time to make this album, I really wanted it to reflect who I was now at 48,” he told the magazine.
And it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s the first time I’ve had to write an album from scratch, which was shocking.
Advocate: The blonde singer launched a campaign, #NotAloneChallenge, to combat mental health issues; photographed in August 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio