Thirty years after Jewel scored her first big hit with 1996’s Who Will Save Your Soul, she remains one of music’s greatest stories of resilience. The singer/songwriter escaped an abusive home life at 15, survived homelessness, and faced debilitating mental health crises, all while honing her craft by playing on the streets and in local clubs in southern California.
Since hitting it big, one of Jewel’s greatest passions has been helping other at-risk youth, including starting her Inspiring Children Foundation (ICF) 25 years ago. On Saturday, October 10, they’ll host the fifth annual #NotAloneChallenge for World Mental Health Day, which has raised over $3 million for mental health organizations and attracted tons of celebrity participants, from Billie Eilish to Lionel Richie to Josh Groban.
Anyone can use the hashtag in social media posts, and share their own inspiring stories or encouraging words to drive home a message of support and provide free mental health resources digitally.
But as hopeful as that sounds, the music icon has a surprising take on that word, telling Parade, “This is sort of a radical thing to say, but I think hope is overrated.”
“Hope, in a weird way, is the same … as fear,” Jewel said. “Saying ‘I’m afraid I won’t pass my exam’ is a lot like saying ‘I hope I pass my exam.’ And saying ‘I hope I pass my exam’ is sort of a way of saying ‘I’m afraid I won’t.’ What’s much more interesting to me, or much more useful, is an action. You know, ‘This is something I’m worried about, and so this is the action I’m going to take.'”
“Hope is just inert unless you give it a commitment, unless you give it a dedication, unless you give it a devotion,” she continued. “So if somebody has no hope, that’s obviously a really painful psychological state. But I would say what you actually don’t have is action, because action, volunteering, that gives you purpose, and purpose is incredibly powerful.”
Jewel left her family home in Alaska at 15, and eventually landed in San Diego, but when her boss refused to pay her because she rejected his sexual advances, she couldn’t pay rent and wound up living in her car. During that time, she suffered panic attacks, agoraphobia, and developed a shoplifting addiction. But she found connecting with others and being of service lifted her out of her despair.
“When I was homeless and I felt hopeless, I would make sure I got an action plan,” Jewel told Parade. “I went and volunteered. You could still volunteer as a homeless person. I found lots of places I could volunteer and help out, and that cured a lot of my loneliness. It cured a lot of my hopelessness because it was really kind of helplessness.”
“Feeling isolated, feeling hopeless, feeling helpless — those are terrible feelings to have,” she said, noting that connecting with others in positive ways has a scientific impact on the brain. “What I learned is if I tackle that sense of isolation, if I move toward connection… that causes your body to emit totally different neurochemicals. That’s the amazing thing. There’s this feedback loop of ‘what I’m thinking affects what I’m feeling, affects mybiochemistry’ and you can tap into that loop anywhere. That affects your mood, and thataffects your thoughts.”
To dive deeper into the evolving research and resources around mental health, Jewel, who is now a mom to 15-year-old son Kase, will also host her 2nd annual Not Alone Summit in early November, including the Not Alone Award Show on November 2, hosted by Emmy Award-winning comedian Loni Love and broadcast via iHeart Radio.
Hence then, the article about jewel survived homelessness abuse mental health crises to become a music icon why she now says hope is overrated exclusive was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Jewel Survived Homelessness, Abuse & Mental Health Crises to Become a Music Icon: Why She Now Says ‘Hope is Overrated’ (Exclusive) )
Also on site :
- CBS Called Variety a ‘Man’s Game’ in 1967 When Carol Burnett Asked for Her Own Show; 1 Forgotten Clause in Her Contract Changed Everything
- Carson Kressley Just Mic-Dropped Vicki Gunvalson’s ‘RHOC’ Motor Boating Outfit and the Internet Can’t Stop Screaming
- Elon Musk’s Exes Reveal His ‘Assembly Line’ Approach to Having Kids in New Documentary: ‘Somebody on Elon’s Side Referred to Us as “the Breeders”’