Overcoming Math Anxiety with Confidence

Introduction

How do you feel when you encounter a math problem? Have you ever felt your heart race or your palms get sweaty? Does your mind go blank when a teacher asks you to answer a math question? Sometimes, do you wish you could escape from the world of numbers and equations?

Well, you're not alone! Many people experience this. It’s called math anxiety. But fear not! In this article, we're going to explore what math anxiety is, why it happens, and most importantly, how you can overcome it.

What is math anxiety?

Math anxiety is a term to describe the fear, stress and worry that people experience in situations involving math. People of all ages can feel anxious about math, but it often begins in school. Some situations when you might experience math anxiety include:

• Having to complete a math worksheet
• Thinking about a math test or taking a math test
• Watching the teacher work out a math problem
• Working on math homework with lots of difficult questions
• Listening to the teacher talk for a long time about math
• Listening to another student explain a math problem
• Starting a new topic in math

Image - Text Version

Shown is a colour photograph of a child standing in front of a blackboard, scratching their head. The child has their back to the camera and a piece of chalk in one hand. The board is covered in math equations with blank spaces for the answers to be written in. Their body language is tense. They are scratching their forehead with their other hand.

People may experience math anxiety in different ways. Think about the situations above. Have you ever noticed that you felt extra stressed, scared or overwhelmed when faced with math? Common symptoms math anxiety include:

• Racing heart
• Sweating
• Feeling like you have knots in your stomach
• Difficulty focusing
• Feeling like you want to escape the situation 

These symptoms are your body’s response to the stress and anxiety caused by math. When you experience math anxiety, your brain thinks you are in danger. So, it sends signals to your body that it is time to run. This is called the fight or flight response. 

What is happening in your brain when you experience math anxiety?

You may have heard people say “my brain hurts!” while doing math. This might be true - sort of. Let’s look at what is happening in the brain when people experience math anxiety.

Amygdala

The amygdala is a key part of the brain that processes negative emotions. These include fear, stress and anxiety. The amygdala sends fear signals to the rest of the brain. When the amygdala is activated, it causes a response in the body. This can include sweating, a racing heart or difficulty focusing.

The Frontal Lobe

The frontal lobe is like the “control panel” in your brain. It is responsible for balancing your emotions. It also deals with your logic, reasoning and your working memory. Anxiety can overload that control panel. When you feel anxious about math, your frontal lobe gets busy dealing with that anxiety. So, it has less capacity to help you remember things and think clearly to solve problems.

Did you know?

The frontal lobe is made up of many parts including the Prefrontal cortex (PFC), the Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC).

Pain Centres 

The pain centres in your brain tell your body to feel pain. They also signal when there is a physical threat. When people are anxious about math, these parts of their brains become more active. One of these areas is called the Insular Cortex. It's not that math is physically painful. But just the thought of doing math can be painful!

Did you know?

Dyscalculia is a learning disability that affects a person's ability to understand and work with numbers and math ideas. People with dyscalculia may have difficulty with tasks like counting, calculating and recognizing math symbols. It's similar to dyslexia, but with numbers!

Math in Real Life 

You might be thinking, if I struggle with math anxiety, I just have to get through school. Then I won’t have to worry anymore. Unfortunately, math anxiety doesn’t stop after school. In fact, research suggests that students who are anxious about math will grow up to become adults who are anxious about math. This is a problem. Math anxiety can lead to difficulties making financial decisions, managing debt, and investing effectively.

So what can you do?

Overcoming Math Anxiety

Luckily, there are a bunch of strategies you can use to help overcome your math anxiety. Let’s look at a few.

1. Strengthen your basics

Practicing your math basics is a great way to build confidence and reduce anxiety. Start by focusing on key math concepts, like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Begin with easy problems and gradually work your way up to more challenging ones. Take small steps and celebrate your successes along the way. Practice can be fun too. Use math games, flashcards, or everyday situations like shopping to apply math skills. By mastering the basics, you'll develop a strong foundation and you’ill become more comfortable in math situations.

Image - Text Version

Shown is a colour photograph of a smiling student writing on a whiteboard as others look on. The camera is focused on the student in the foreground. They are smiling broadly as they write on the board. Several other students are gathered in the background, holding books and pens.

2. Write down your fears

Before a big test, grab a piece of paper and write down your thoughts and feelings about it. This is a process called cognitive offloading. By writing the feelings down, you’re freeing up space in your brain. This makes it easier to use logic, reasoning, and working memory. Scientists have discovered that this process can help people feel less nervous, and even score better on the test.

Image - Text Version

Shown is a colour photograph of a person’s hands as they write. The camera is focused on the hands. The right is resting on the notebook, keeping it open on the table. The left is grasping a pen. Their arm and chest are visible In the background.

3. Breathe and Refocus

When you start to feel worried or stressed, take a moment to pause. Close your eyes, take a deep breath in through your nose, then slowly exhale through your mouth. Repeat this a few times. This simple exercise can help calm your mind and reduce anxiety, making it easier to focus on the math tasks ahead.

Image - Text Version

Shown is a colour photograph of a person overlaid with an illustration of lungs. The person is shown from their neck to the tops of their legs. A white line drawing of lungs and a trachea is over their grey t-shirt. The person is holding their right hand over the centre of their chest, and their left hand over their diaphragm.

5. Break down the question

If you look at a complicated math question and feel overwhelmed, start by identifying what the question is asking. Break the problem into simpler parts, tackling one step at a time. This way you will understand what each part of the problem means and how it relates to the overall solution. Breaking down math problems makes them less intimidating, and it will also boost your confidence as you make progress, step by step.

Image - Text Version

Shown is a white diagram of numbered stairs on a blackboard. The diagram looks as if it’s drawn with chalk. The steps are shown from the side, represented by a thick, zig zag line. The lowest step is labelled 3, the middle 2, and the top step 1.

If you want to learn more strategies for tackling math problems, explore this article about Computational Thinking. The skills of decomposition, logical thinking and pattern recognition can help you break down difficult math problems into smaller parts.

Conclusion 

The more comfortable you are with math, the better prepared you will be to use it in the future. There are also many careers that require math! Even some you may not have thought of.

Explore these careers that use math:

Elizabeth Moses (she/her)

Sheet Metal Worker

See Elizabeth Moses (she/her)'s profile

Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo (she/her)

Astrophysicist and Associate professor

See Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo (she/her)'s profile

Roger Bragg

Construction Electrician

See Roger Bragg 's profile

Allison Rumbolt

Helicopter Pilot

See Allison Rumbolt's profile

Let’s Talk Science appreciates the contributions of Andie Storozuk in the development of this backgrounder. Andie is a doctoral candidate in Experimental Psychology at the University of Ottawa. As part of the Emotion and Cognition Lab, she specializes in studying the connection between math anxiety and financial literacy.