Jewel Kilcher, the celebrated singer-songwriter known simply as Jewel, has spent years championing mental health through her Inspiring Children Foundation and the #NotAloneChallenge campaign. This initiative, which enters its fourth year on October 10—marking World Mental Health Day—aims to provide vital mental health resources to those in need.
“The motivation was to go a step beyond raising awareness—to be able to put tools into people’s hands that are usable and free,” Jewel told TODAY.com. She emphasized the importance of offering a variety of mental wellness tools, noting, “I think a lot of people don’t realize how many modalities there are. And so if one isn’t working for you, it’s not that you’re broken, it’s that you may not have the right tool.”
The #NotAloneChallenge website features a wide range of resources, including mood-enhancing activities and information about hotlines and in-person assistance.
At 51, Jewel has cultivated her own coping strategies, sharing her journey in interviews. Raised in a challenging environment with an abusive father, she left home at 15 and later experienced panic attacks. Reflecting on her upbringing, Jewel said, “Happiness wasn’t really taught in my household, and I wondered if it was a learnable skill or a teachable skill, or do kids like me just fall through the cracks, and you don’t have hope the rest of your life?”
To find answers, she embarked on a quest to decode happiness, which led her to songwriting. Songs like “Who Will Save Your Soul” and “Angel Standing By” became her personal remedies. Alongside songwriting, she found solace in journaling and meditation, which played pivotal roles in her mental health journey. Jewel emphasizes the importance of reframing her relationship with anxiety.
“I stopped thinking that anxiety meant something was wrong with me, and maybe it meant something was right with me, that my anxiety was my body’s way of telling me I was consuming something that didn’t agree with me,” she explained. Jewel noted that raising awareness about her feelings allowed her to be more selective about the thoughts and actions she engaged with, leading to positive changes in her health.
Upon the release of her debut album, “Pieces of You,” in 1995, Jewel experienced a different set of challenges that came with fame. While she can appreciate that time now, she admits, “I didn’t really enjoy being that famous.”
As she progressed in her career with her 1998 album, “Spirit,” Jewel learned to manage her notoriety. “I started to regulate how famous I got. I started to take years between albums to kill my momentum. My mental health just didn’t do good with being that level of fame,” she said. Simple day-to-day activities, like grocery shopping, became complicated by her newfound celebrity status.
Jewel realized that she didn’t have to embrace that level of fame continuously. “I can be less famous, and it’s not that hard to do. You take time between albums, and you go under the radar really quickly,” she said. This approach has made her career manageable, allowing her to engage in the activities she loves. Reflecting on those early days, she described a mix of exhaustion and exhilaration, stating, “I had a dream come true.”
She regards “Pieces of You” as a sincere project that emerged during a time characterized by grunge culture and skepticism in the music industry. The album produced significant hits, including “Who Will Save Your Soul,” “You Were Meant For Me,” and “Foolish Games,” achieving a remarkable 12-times platinum status. Jewel expressed gratitude for the listeners who supported her, noting, “The trajectory of my life was altered because people invested in that album and invested in me as a person, invested in my writing and my heart. … I sometimes don’t know if people realize what a dynamic, real relationship it is.”
Over twenty years ago, Jewel co-founded the Inspiring Children Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding at-risk youth in various aspects of their lives, including physical and mental health. The #NotAloneChallenge not only provides resources for mental health but also encourages individuals to post gratitude videos to remind others that they are not alone.
As a mother to 14-year-old Kase, whom she shares with ex-husband Ty Murray, Jewel has placed a strong emphasis on her physical health. She practices yoga, engages in weight training, and enjoys hiking in nature. Recently, on October 5, she highlighted the healing power of nature in an Instagram post.
On September 16, Jewel garnered significant attention when she shared a selfie showcasing her toned physique. She captioned the post, “Summer recap: more travel, more lifting (because, 51 and gotta keep that muscle and bone up) more time with family and loved ones, more painting … more adventure, more joy,” which attracted nearly 68,000 likes. Jewel found the reaction amusing, stating, “I didn’t think it was going to be that big of a deal. It really got picked up. Yeah, it was pretty funny to me.”
