From Overwhelmed to Empowered: Transforming a Family’s Struggle with Anxiety into a Movement for Healing

By Liz Prybylo

Founder of Confident Kids Club

There wasn’t one big, dramatic moment that set me on my current path. Instead, it was a slow culmination of moments that brought clarity —a journey that started with my child’s worsening anxiety.

At first, the worries seemed manageable. But as my son’s generalized anxiety and OCD grew stronger, daily life became harder. School became impossible, and eventually, we had to keep him home. 

Every single day of my life felt like I had to suit up for battle—managing behaviors, meltdowns, and the inability to get through basic daily tasks. What followed was a long, exhausting stretch: nine months to get him evaluated, many more months to find a counselor he connected with, and over a year in therapy before we started to see meaningful progress. Through it all, I felt stuck—desperate to help, but unsure how.

I did what so many parents in that situation do. I read, I researched, I tried every well-meaning suggestion I could find. And slowly, I started to learn. I learned what helped and what didn’t. I learned how to be steady for him, how to create small, safe steps forward, and how to help him feel capable in the face of his fears. But more than anything, I learned how hard it is for parents to know where to start when anxiety takes over their child’s life.

That experience shifted something in me. I realized I didn’t just want to figure it out for my own family—I wanted to be part of making the process better for others. I wanted to help parents and kids feel supported sooner, to make the tools for handling anxiety feel approachable, playful, and progressive. I wanted families to feel like they could learn together how to face anxiety with strategies that were grounded in research, not just guesswork.

That’s when it became clear to me that my next step needed to combine two things: psychology and entrepreneurship. I knew I wanted to work toward becoming a school counselor so I could be part of supporting children and families directly. And I knew I wanted to build resources that could give families practical, engaging ways to build skills at home—resources I wish I’d had during those long months of waiting and wondering how to help.

That realization has shaped everything I’ve done since. I returned to graduate school to earn my Master of Education in School Counseling. I wanted the knowledge and training to back up my lived experience with professional expertise. And I began developing ideas that eventually became Confident Kids Club, a business focused on creating screen-free, play-based tools to help families support their children’s emotional health. The work I do now is driven by that same purpose: to help children and families feel more confident, more connected, and more capable in facing anxiety.

That journey taught me that leadership doesn’t always come from having the answers right away. Sometimes, it comes from living the questions, and choosing to turn hard-won lessons into something that helps others. That’s what drives me now. And that’s the kind of leader I strive to be every day.

Connect With Liz

www.confidentkidboxes.com

Instagram & Facebook: @ConfidentKidsHQ