Jewel explains why she put her mental health above her career: 'I didn't want to be a statistic'

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Singer-songwriter Jewel got candid in a new interview with People magazine in which she discussed 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 breakdown.'The mom-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 up: Singer–songwriter Jewel got candid in a new interview with People magazine, in which she discussed mental health; seen in March Elaborating on her mindset, she dished: 'My goal when I moved out [of my house] at 15 was to learn a new emotional language.'As a precocious teen she added that she 'knew that as much as I had a genetic inheritance that might predispose me to diabetes or heart disease, I could tell that I had an emotional inheritance and that might predispose me to cycles of addiction and abuse.' The music artist left home as a teenager and was homeless, living in her car when she was discovered.'When I got discovered — it's funny — I almost didn't sign my record contract because I was so aware that if you take somebody with my emotional background, and God forbid, I get famous…' she explained.

Big decision: The 48-year-old Intuition hitmaker said she almost didn't sign her record deal at age 15 because she wanted to avoid 'a breakdown'As a compromise, the bright young woman said she came to a personal agreement with herself.'I made myself a deal that I would sign that contract as long as my number one job remained learning how to be a happy, whole human,' she told the outlet.As a result, at the peak of her music career she took a break due to needing 'time to psychologically adjust to the level of.