being persistent, and being patient with yourself. Remember the old saying,
‘‘Rome wasn’t built in a day.’’
LEARNING CALMING AND RELAXATION SKILLS
The second part of this program is designed to show you some techniques for
stress management. These techniques will help you to relax and overcome
some of the physical and mental symptoms (nervousness, upset stomach, etc.)
of math anxiety. The first technique is calleddeep breathing. Here you sit
comfortably in a chair with your back straight, feet on the floor, and hands
on your knees. Take a deep, slow breath in through your nose and draw it
down into your stomach. Feel your stomach expand. Then exhale through
your mouth. Take several deep breaths. Note: If you become dizzy, stop
immediately.
Another technique that can be used to calm yourself is to use arelaxation
word. Sit comfortably, clear your mind, and breathe normally. Concentrate
on your breathing, and each time you exhale, say a word such as ‘‘relax,’’
‘‘peace,’’ ‘‘one,’’ or ‘‘calm.’’ Select a word that is pleasing and calming to you.
You can also use a technique calledthought stopping. Any time you start
thinking anxious thoughts about mathematics, say to yourself, ‘‘STOP,’’ and
then try to think of something else. A related technique is calledthought
switching. Here you make up your mind to switch your thoughts to some-
thing pleasant instead of thinking anxious thoughts about mathematics.
In the preceding section, I explained the techniques ofvisualizationand
affirmations. You can also use visualizations and affirmations to help you
reduce your anxiety. Whenever you become anxious about mathematics,
visualize yourself as being calm and collected. If you cannot do this, then
visualize a quiet, peaceful scene such as a beautiful, calm lake in the moun-
tains. You can also repeat affirmations such as ‘‘I am calm.’’
The last technique that you can use to relax is calledgrounding. In order to
ground yourself, sit comfortably in a chair with your back straight, feet on
the floor, and hands on your legs or on the side of the chair. Take several
deep breaths and tell yourself to relax. Next, think of each part of your body
being grounded. In other words, say to yourself, ‘‘I feel my feet grounded to
the floor.’’ Then think of your feet touching the floor until you can feel them
touching. Then proceed to your ankles, legs, etc., until you reach the top of
your head. You can take a deep breath between grounding the various parts
of the body, and you can even tell yourself to relax.
In order to learn these techniques, you must practice them over and over
until they begin to work.
SUPPLEMENT Overcoming Math Anxiety 279