Dealing with Math Anxiety
4 MINUTE READ • ACADEMIC SUPPORT
Does the thought of doing a math problem send you into a panic? Guess what? You’re not alone.
“By some estimates, nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults report severe math anxiety, and the vast majority report at least some level of discomfort with the subject,” (EdWeek). It could be argued that close to 50% of the population struggles with math. If that doesn’t make you feel better, here are some tips to help you overcome the struggle with math.
Identify How Your Body Reacts to Anxiety
Do you have a hard time breathing? Do you freeze up and find yourself unable to concentrate? Maybe you simply lack confidence in your ability to solve math equations? Once you recognize how your body reacts, you can find ways to respond appropriately.
Combat the Stress
Try some deep breathing exercises before getting started. Take 5-10 deep, slow breaths in through your nose and out your mouth. This should calm you down and prepare your body and mind to get to work.
Break your assignments down into small time chunks or problem chunks. Tell yourself you are going to work on 5 problems or you are going to work for 30 minutes and then stop. Knowing you have a deadline will help you power through the work. Take a break and do it again. Continue that until your assignment is done.
Call your teacher. Your teacher wants you to reach out. Send them a text or an email and ask for help. Be specific in how you want to get that help. Do you want to do a phone call, google meet, or would you rather they send you some resources for you to use on your own like a youtube video or a recording of the teacher explaining the process so you can watch it on your own. Maybe you want them to walk you through a few problems, they will do that!
Think about how you talk about math and change your self-talk. Instead of saying, “math is too hard,” try saying, “I can figure this out.” When you hear yourself saying, “math is stupid,” change it to, “math is important.” Sometimes when we don’t understand why we need math, it seems stupid. Ask your teacher why this skill is important and maybe that will change your mindset.
Go to a tutoring center to work on math so you can get questions answered as you need them. If you need help locating a center, talk to your mentor.
Put Things Into Perspective
Math is important but it isn’t worth getting frustrated about, especially to the point of quitting altogether. Keep that in mind and contact your mentor.
Math doesn’t have to be scary and we certainly don’t want your experience with it to be anxiety-filled. We want to work with you to make it a comfortable process. If you feel like none of these tips are helping, contact your math teacher or your mentor and talk about it. Depending on your situation, they will have lots of other options to help you complete that class now or in the future. Just remember, you are stronger than your anxiety. You’ve got this.
Stacy Johnson
Stacy Johnson is a nerd about writing. While working as a full time mom to her eight kids, she got her Bachelor's Degree from ASU in English Literature. When her baby was in kindergarten, she started teaching and got her Masters from GCU in Secondary Education. She's been a teacher for six years. She's been writing short stories since she was a teenager and was a staff writer for The Beehive newspaper for over 10 years. She has volumes and volumes of personal journals and was blogging before it was cool. She's been with Graduation Solutions as an Instructor since July 2021.