Jewel Reveals Shoplifting Addiction During Homelessness at 51

2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 23

Jewel, 51, said homelessness in San Diego pushed her into a compulsive shoplifting addiction while panic attacks and agoraphobia worsened and she lived in her car.
No food, water or gas after paychecks fell through left her stealing first for survival and kidney remedies, then for items she did not need.
A changing-room moment with a stolen dress became her breaking point, when she said she saw herself as “a homeless kid shoplifting” headed for jail or death.
The singer said journaling every hand movement for two weeks made her “radically present,” helping stop panic attacks and break the fear-driven behavior.
Jewel linked that spiral to a childhood marked by no running water or electricity in Alaska, her mother leaving at 8, and later physical abuse by her father.