Singer-songwriter Jewel is helping people feel connected during the holidays with the #NotAloneChallenge. She joins Trending to talk about the campaign, achieving happiness, and her new album. 

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Jewel Talks Mental Health And #NotAloneChallenge

singer songwriter Jewel following up her return to music with a new initiative. Focus on mental health. It's called the Hashtag Not Alone Challenge a new campaign to remind people they don't have to tough it out by themselves all during the holiday. So important, the project will offer free mental health resources and raise funds to get help to those in need. It's also encouraging people to create a short video sharing their mental health struggles and successes, and then challenge other To share their stories as well. Yeah. And I got to speak with you about the initiative plus her new music and so much more. Take a look. Thank you so much for being here. Thanks for having me now. This is so amazing and so important that you have this. I mean with over 30 million albums, so people are want to listen to you, people are going to not only listen to your music, but also this initiative. So, talk to us why why you created this challenge. When I moved out, I was very young, I moved out at 15, I was homeless by 18 and when I signed my record contract, my number one promise was to learn how to be a happy human if it wasn't taught in my household, was at a learning skill and what I realized is everybody across the world needs good mental hygiene, but we take, you know, going to a dentist is no big deal, but for some reason, talking about mental health is a scary subject for people, but everybody needs it. Everybody struggle With anxiety or a variety of things and we realized 50% of the people that need tools don't have access to them that's unacceptable and anxiety and depression at all time highs and they typically double during the holidays. So I really wanted to create a campaign that supported people. I want every walk of life, all kinds of people to come together to start to raise money to make sure we scale proven tools and I think it's great that you're making this into a fun challenge almost cause then it gets people want to talk about and remove some of that stigma associated with it to just get the help and not be embarrassed about it. So what do you say to those people who are still a little bit leery about sharing their stories are being transparent about what they're going through? You know, I think Covid really showed us that pretty much everybody at some point in their life is struggling and Covid caused people to really struggle. So even if it's just anxiety or anxiety when you wake up, I think everybody can relate on some level and we just have to have better strategies, you know, just like learning how to floss your teeth. There are strategies that help you quiet anxiety in a healthy way. So who are some of the people that you've challenged and maybe some of the other celebrities involved with so many amazing people involved from celebrities to athletes. Billie Eilish is allowing us to have an experience at one of our holiday shows. I personally challenge steve Wozniak, he is obviously the inventor of the Apple Computer Um and a businessman named Ari Birkoff, who's a dear friend because I really want the business community coming out and talking about this as well. That's awesome. I know a lot of people are gonna participate. I'm gonna participate in the challenge as well. But I also want to talk about your music because you just released your 13th studio album, free willing woman, which you clearly are. So you took a break before doing that, why don't you take a break? And what does it feel like to be back on top back in the game. The promise I made myself when I was discovered at 18 as a homeless kid, that my number one job would be to learn how to be happy. My number two job would be to learn how to be a musician. And that under that I wanted to be an artist more than I wanted to be famous. So those were my North Star decisions that I navigated my life by and that meant taking really big breaks during my career because psychologically I couldn't keep up with the level of fame I achieved. Um or when I became a mom, I really wanted to focus on being a mom? I call them my deathbed decisions, I pretend when I'm on my deathbed and I look back and I go, does this decision matter? Well, I have cared, I sold another 10 million albums or will I have cared that I really focused on my son. And for me, the answer at that time was my son, wow, that was. And how beneficial has that been? Or how has that changed your relationship with your son? It's been incredible. I wouldn't trade it for the world. And the decision is unique for every person. Every mom, every dad, every person what the right answer is at the right time. And just encouraging people to make sure that you take the time and then you also like, obviously have to set up your finances and your whole world. So you have the freedom to do that and you got back to the music, you're still doing it now. You even did a collaboration with Train, went on tour with them. What's it been like to collaborate with them and why? Why did you choose them? Yeah, I love train. Um we just go back really far. It was a great tour to be on. Darius Rucker is an old friend, he sings on this album as well. The album is a really soulful, fun celebratory record. You don't see many 48 year old women in my job um that our parents and talking about it. So I wanted this to show people what it looked like. I'm glad you did because now we know that you can do both. Maybe not simultaneously all the time, but you can have both and you can continue doing it and be successful as you have been and even coming from a troubled background you've been open about, you know, you're homeless and your hardships as a kid living without running water even at times, how do you go through those challenges and turn it around for all the kids that may be saying, you know, I can't become a star, I can't become a jewel because I'm in this circumstance at this time, I don't personally believe there's any excuse to not go and achieve your dreams if you're willing to work very hard for it. I work with nothing but a lot of kids with really adverse circumstances and all of them at one point start going, alright, I'm responsible for my happiness, what am I willing to do for me? And when they start channeling their energy into that, it's amazing what magic happens, what keeps you happy? You know, happiness is the side effect of choices and so it's really by focusing on what choices am I making and are these choices gonna lead to happiness? So am I gonna stay up till three in the morning binge watching tv shows are might get myself to bed um and which outcome is gonna follow which of those decisions and being really, I'd say a little bit discerning about those choices you're making, we are glad the choices you make as you continue to make us happy. So thank thank you so much for joining us here. We appreciate your time. Thanks. If people want to see the auction items that we're donating like with watches, you can actually play Atari with Woz, Woz invented pong or is it called ping? Anyway, a lot of Atari games so people could play like Atari with him, which I think is a really cool auction items or to win the Billie Eilish package. Go to the Not Alone Challenge dot org. Wow. Such important work. Thanks to singer songwriter jewel.