As a music performance major, Abrams was required to take group piano classes, which followed a standard curriculum regardless of prior experience. Initially, her childhood piano lessons made the first semester manageable, but the increasing difficulty of skills like harmonic minor scales, chord progressions, and improvisation quickly overwhelmed her. Practicing daily did not yield improvement, exacerbating their anxiety, especially when performing in front of peers. Despite their efforts, her professor's dismissive responses to their struggles—questioning her practice habits and progress—intensified feelings of guilt and shame. The pressure to pass the piano proficiency exam heightened their dread, and eventually, the anxiety became so overwhelming that even the sight of a piano triggered distress. To escape the cycle of self-criticism and pain, she stopped attending class altogether.