Mathematics continues to be one of the more challenging topics that you’ll come across in school. You’ll often find teachers or parents repeating that you either love mathematics or hate it. While there is some truth behind this saying, there’s no reason to think that the students hating math are doing it because they don’t like the subject or are not intelligent enough.
In most cases, students get anxious thinking about math because of negative associations. The moment you have a negative experience, you start to associate the subject with it. So, if you’ve ever had trouble solving a college homework and were scolded because of it, you’d develop a hesitance towards the subject. In this blog, you’ll learn more about such math anxiety and how you can overcome it.
What is Math Anxiety?
Do you palpitate the moment you think about solving a mathematics paper? If you tend to hire a website like Tophomeworkhelper.com for your math homework because you’re afraid of making mistakes, then there’s a high chance you suffer from math anxiety.
In a 2018, almost 93% of American adults admitted to having experienced math anxiety in some form or the other. So, this feeling of helplessness that you’re experiencing is more natural than you think. It should only be concerning when your anxiety becomes so bad that you completely freeze up or don’t know how to proceed.
Usual symptoms of math anxiety can include the following –
- Labored breathing
- Tense muscles
- Headaches and migraines
- Lightheadedness
- Increased heart rate
- Increased sweat production
If left unchecked, this anxiety can have a lot of negative consequences. Researchers have already found that people suffering from anxiety tend to have poor memory. Additionally, you can suffer from low confidence and poor grades.
How to Overcome Math Anxiety?
Getting over anxiety is never easy. You can’t expect to wake up one day and suddenly be completely okay with tackling all kinds of mathematics questions. It is a long and arduous process. So, let’s check out a few steps that can ease this journey.
- Meditation and yoga
Take deep breaths whenever you become too anxious. Close your eyes and let those negative thoughts spiraling in your head take a break. Instead, focus on one point from your surroundings and breathe in deeply. Exhale from your mouth. Continue this process a few times until you feel your heartbeat return to normal. If meditation works for you, then try signing up for yoga classes. Research has proven that yoga can reduce anxiety significantly. So, why not try this out?
- Singing up for additional classes
If learning with a lot of people doesn’t work out for you, you might want to consider opting for additional tutorial classes. After all, every student learns at their own pace. You can’t rush something like mathematics. But unfortunately, due to time constraints, teachers aren’t able to provide additional guidance during class hours. So, in order to improve your understanding, you can volunteer to attend remedial classes. Due to the lesser number of students, the teachers can provide individual attention to all.
- Writing down your thoughts
When anxious thoughts fill your head, writing them down in a diary or journal can act as an outlet. The more you keep those negative thoughts inside your head, the harder it will become to concentrate on your assignments. If you don’t express them, you’ll start believing their self-deprecating words.
- Practicing all sums patiently
While avoiding mathematic questions seems like the best option to avoid anxiety, it’s just a temporary solution. In fact, you aren’t addressing the problem at its roots. Instead, you’re looking away from it. The more you try to avoid math, the greater your anxiety will become. So, instead, you should face it head-on. Try solving all the sums in a chapter before moving on to the next. Practice regularly and soon you won’t feel so afraid of this subject.
Initially, you might have a challenging time. But instead of giving up, revise the fundamentals. If you’re having trouble understanding how to proceed with a sum, ask your teachers or peers for help.
In summary,
The feeling of helplessness that you get at the very thought of a mathematics problem might seem harmless in the beginning. But if left to left to fester, it can affect your memory and lower your confidence. So, in order to overcome this anxiety, you should keep practicing until you polish your mathematics skills to perfection. If all else fails, you can seek professional guidance as well.
