Lily’s Story
From Social Anxiety to Singing The National Anthem
Read the incredible story of how Lily Martin overcame her social anxiety to do what she once thought was impossible.
A New Path Toward Coping with Anxiety
Lily Martin was struggling with anxiety stemming from issues with family relationships. Specifically, her father was extremely ill when she started services with NewPath. She was initially referred because she struggled with communication, low self-esteem, harsh self-judgment, anxiety about how others perceived her, and difficulty controlling her emotions. After a few weeks of treatment with us, her father passed away. This loss took an additional toll on her anxiety and mental health.
“I have had a pretty typical path with anxiety throughout my early life. Nothing really started to affect me until middle school when I moved, and things started to get rough at home. Throughout high school, it progressively got worse and has proven to be difficult in all aspects of life. [Anxiety was] making it difficult to keep up with normal things. [It] made me wonder whether or not the emotions I was feeling towards different things were right or if they were even valid feelings,” said Lily of her anxiety.
How Therapy impacted her life
Music has always been a passion of Lily’s, and she even was part of her high school’s show choir. Therapy partnered with music helped her overcome her anxiety and built her confidence. When the opportunity to sing the National Anthem before a Cincinnati Reds game presented itself, Lily pushed past her fears and doubts. With the tools she learned from her time at NewPath, Lily accomplished something she didn’t think was possible. While she has no plans to pursue a solo music career, music is still a part of her life. Lily is a member of The Choraliers at Miami University Oxford, where she is a student.
“I’ve had such a strong passion for music for as long as I can remember. My dad’s whole family was in choir in high school, and [they] do a lot of singing or music work. My mom always had music playing and encouraged me to sing along. I was always either singing, playing piano, or doing both at the same time. The most successful form of therapy that I’ve found is open, fun conversation when in the [NewPath] office with a therapist. Outside of the office, channeling my emotions through artwork and vocal work has been the biggest helper in my journey,” said Lily of how talk and music therapy positively impacted her life.
Social Anxiety as a Disorder
This accomplishment was an amazing experience that Lily will carry with her for the rest of her life, and she is an example of hope for other youth struggling as she did. About 32% of US youth (around 13.8 million) struggle with an anxiety disorder, and 8% are diagnosed as severe. Left untreated, anxiety disorders can cause long-term effects that continue into adulthood. These effects can be debilitating to its sufferers and push them to self-isolate and risk the development of other mental health disorders.
“I want to thank NewPath and its inner workings for helping me instill the confidence in myself after a rough time that I needed to be able to do big and brave things like this in front of tons of people. I wouldn’t have been able to do something like that even two years ago, and for me to be able to have this experience with me is life-changing. I owe some of the thanks to being able to enjoy this to NewPath,” said Lily of her experience working with NewPath.
Make an Impact. Invest in Hope.
NewPath often talks about the impact employees, volunteers, donors, and supporters make in the lives of children and families each day. But what does that impact look like? Lily’s story is one example of the countless lives forever positively changed by NewPath and our team of expert staff.
NewPath’s mission is Igniting Hope. Changing Futures. But the hope we provide begins with a spark. That spark comes from the continuous investment of you, our supporters. Because of your dedication and compassion, we can use your spark to ignite hope in the hearts of children, and one day that spark will transform into a flame of change.