WELLBEING

4 ways to beat maths anxiety before it negatively affects your life

13 September, 2022 . 0

If doing even simple sums makes you break into a nervous sweat, you’re not alone. But there are ways to face your fear of maths.

If the prospect of helping your kids with maths homework or calculating what an interest rate hike means for your mortgage makes you feel worried and tense, you might have maths anxiety.

“One signpost to tell if you’re maths anxious is when you have to do maths in your everyday life, does it elicit feelings of fear, like a racing heart or where intrusive thoughts about your ability start to consume your thinking?” Australian Council for Educational Research senior research fellow Dr Sarah Buckley says.

“Maths-anxious adults also tend to avoid doing maths as much as possible.”

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How common is maths anxiety?

While some researchers suggest six to 17 per cent of people experience maths anxiety, other research shows by mid to late secondary school as many as one-third of Australian students report feeling tense, nervous or helpless when dealing with maths.

If left unchallenged, this anxiety often persists throughout adulthood.

What causes maths anxiety?

Dr Buckley says maths anxiety occurs when maths is something we value – perhaps because it’s essential for a future career or because we believe maths is an indicator of general intelligence – and we also have a fixed mindset about our maths ability.

“In other words, we believe we’re not in control of our maths ability, so that it’s fixed or set instead,” Dr Buckley says.

“This belief can come from many different places, including the home environment or messages you receive at school about your maths ability, or even stereotypes about different genders having different maths capabilities.”

Even people good at maths can have maths anxiety

Maths anxiety can occur regardless of ability, says Dr Kinga Morsanyi, senior lecturer in mathematical cognition at the UK’s Loughborough University.

“People who are anxious about maths might be actually quite good at it,” Dr Morsanyi says.

“Some people have really low confidence in their maths ability and they think, ‘Oh, I’m not a maths person; I’m not good with numbers’, and that’s not always true.”

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Is it really such a big deal?

Yes – having maths anxiety can be a big deal for adults, according to Dr Morsanyi.

Maths-anxious adults can feel less confident about some important decisions that involve numerical information.

“Some of our studies showed maths anxious people are less likely to make advantageous choices about medical treatments when presented with statistical information,” Dr Morsanyi says.

“They are also less confident in their decisions, which could result in not adhering to effective treatments.”

Dr Buckley says maths-anxious adults can pass on a negative message about maths to their children, too.

“It often comes from a place of protection and care,” Dr Buckley says.

“But saying something like, ‘I wasn’t good at maths, so don’t worry, it’s just the way it is’ to a child can create that fixed mindset about maths.”

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How to combat maths anxiety

Dr Buckley recommends taking three deep breaths when you’re faced with a situation that causes your maths anxiety to surface.

“It’s one of the simplest ways to reduce the physical sensations of anxiety,” she says.

For the longer term, here are some strategies that may help.

Recognise what’s happening

“If you’re maths anxious, it can be valuable to acknowledge the way you think about or approach maths-related situations is probably quite different to other subjects or situations,” Dr Buckley says.

Reflect on the past

“Consider where your fixed mindset about maths has come from, as well as what value maths held for you in the past,” Dr Buckley says.

“This can help you understand there are many things that reinforce this type of thinking.”

Challenge your thinking

Challenge your belief that you’re not good at maths – and accept it’s OK to make mistakes.

“There’s this stigma that we’re not allowed to make mistakes in maths, which isn’t true,” Dr Buckley says.

“It’s how you pick yourself up after you’ve made a mistake that’s important.”

Try some maths

“You’ve got to try – in order to make mistakes, get back up and have some success – to demonstrate it’s possible,” Dr Buckley says.

“That’s what’s ultimately going to challenge a fixed mindset about maths.”

If “trying some maths” comes in the form of your kid’s homework, seize the chance to model some helpful behaviour.

“As well as considering how you talk about maths, model it’s OK to make mistakes and, if you’re not sure how to solve a problem, that seeking help rather than giving up is the best approach,” Dr Buckley says.