Jewel Talks Her Anxiety, Lyrics, and Life

Multiplatinum recording artist Jewel has won many awards and performed at the Super Bowl — but how much do you really know about her? She grew up with no running water, was a homeless teenager in San Diego, and turned all that into music for her album “Pieces of You,” which is one of the bestselling debuts of all time. In this episode, Jewel discusses her anxiety disorder, her past traumas, and what different song lyrics from her vast catalog of music mean to her. She also tells us about her work with the Inspiring Children Foundation, a foundation that has spent the past 18 years empowering children who struggle with financial hardship, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. To learn more -- or read the transcript -- please visit the official episode page here. Guest Bio Jewel went from a girl who grew up with no running water on an Alaskan homestead, to a homeless teenager in San Diego, to an award-winning, multiplatinum recording artist who released one of the bestselling debuts of all time. Throughout her career, Jewel has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and has earned 26 nominations for awards such as the Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, VMAs, VH1 Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and Country Music Awards, winning eight times. Jewel has been featured on the covers of TIME and Rolling Stone and has performed on “Saturday Night Live,” at the Super Bowl and the NBA Finals, and for the pope and the president of the United States. She is one of the few singer-songwriters to top the chart in every genre she wrote for: folk, pop, club, country, standards, children's, and holiday music. See more at jeweljk.com. ABOUT INSPIRING CHILDREN FOUNDATION: For 18 years, Jewel’s Inspiring Children Foundation and Never Broken program have been empowering children struggling with financial hardship, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation by giving them the ultimate environment to survive and then thrive. With teenage suicide up by 70% and anxiety and depression doubling, they have been at the forefront of solving this epidemic. The program equips at-risk youth with everything they need to be physically, emotionally, and mentally healthy in a fun and inspirational way, online and in person. This ecosystem of excellence includes: emotional intelligence, SEL, mindfulness/meditation, group counseling and mentoring, leadership development, entrepreneur skills, nutrition, yoga, tennis, sleep science, and academics. 80% of the foundation’s operations are run by the children. The children gain know-how, an understanding of themselves, and confidence by earning their way in a real-life “project driven learning” program. The young leaders have been so academically, athletically, and personally developed that 95% have been offered scholarships and admissions into the best colleges in the world, including: Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Georgetown, Penn-Wharton, Brown, Dartmouth, Williams, Columbia, Naval Academy, USC, Vanderbilt and 100 more. Most importantly, these children are being armed with a “psychology for life” that helps them generate their own peace of mind and contentment as self-actualized leaders. To learn more about Jewel’s program, visit www.inspiringchildren.org. Inside Mental Health Podcast Host Gabe Howard is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author. Gabe makes his home in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. He lives with his supportive wife, Kendall, and a Miniature Schnauzer dog that he never wanted, but now can’t imagine life without. To book Gabe for your next event or learn more about him, please visit gabehoward.com.