Part I The Nature and Causes of Math Anxiety
Many students suffer from what is called ‘‘math anxiety.’’ Math anxiety is
very real, and it can hinder your progress in learning mathematics. Some of
the physical symptoms of math anxiety include:
nervousness;
pounding heart;
rapid breathing;
sweating;
nauseousness;
upset stomach; and
tenseness.In addition to the physical symptoms, people may experience any or all of
the following mental symptoms:
a feeling of panic or fear;
cloudy or fuzzy thinking;
lack of concentration;
a mental block in thinking; and
feelings of helplessness, guilt, shame, inferiority, or stupidity.If you have any of these physical or mental symptoms when you are in a
mathematics classroom, during a mathematics test, or when you are doing
your mathematics homework, then you suffer some degree of math anxiety.
Naturally, a little fear or uneasiness accompanies all of us when we take
exams, but if these symptoms are severe enough to keep you from doing your
best, it is time to do something about your math anxiety.
In order to decrease your anxiety, it is helpful to determine why you have
math anxiety. After all, no student, as far as we know, is born with math
anxiety. Let’s look at some possible causes of math anxiety, and while you
are reading them, think about some reasons that might have caused you to
develop math anxiety.
REASON 1: POOR MATH TEACHERS
Throughout elementary school, middle school, and even in high school, you
have had many mathematics teachers. Some were good, and some were not.
Sometimes teachers are forced to teach math when they are not trained for it
or when they dislike the subject themselves, or even when they do not under-
SUPPLEMENT Overcoming Math Anxiety 273