Math Anxiety: How to Overcome It and Build Confidence

Are you a “math person” or not? These kinds of questions have divided classrooms, schools, professional development meetings, and workplaces into the math people and the “not-math” people. Math anxiety is a very real thing among people of all ages, but what is it really (and how can you overcome it)?

What is Math Anxiety?

Math anxiety is a feeling of fear, anxiousness, tension, or self-doubt when it comes specifically to completing math tasks. It is extremely common—some estimates even show that a vast majority of US individuals face some level of apprehension or anxiety when it comes to even basic math.

The Problem May Not Actually Be Math

One surprising fact about math anxiety is that it doesn’t mean you do poorly in math. According to Sarah Sparks in EducationWeek, “Emerging cognitive and neuroscience research finds that math anxiety is not just a response to poor math performance—in fact, 4 out of 5 students with math anxiety are average-to-high math performers. Rather, math anxiety is linked to higher activity in areas of the brain that relate to fear of failure before a math task, not during it.”

This fear takes up mental capacity to an extent that prevents you from being able to focus on math problems effectively. It derails your thought processes and your confidence to make the tasks seem harder and more daunting—even if you have the knowledge to complete them. 

Math anxiety is more about cognitive performance and ability than it is about math content. Ask yourself: can my (or my child’s) brain’s capacity handle completing math tasks? Or is it a knowledge gap?

If you understand the concepts but still struggle when it comes to completing the tasks, it’s likely to be math anxiety.

What Brain Skills Do You Need for Math?

Math tutoring and individualized instruction may be helpful for some learners to overcome math anxiety. But for a lot of learners, there is something deeper going on. Instead of focusing on the content, we like to focus on the brain! Building up your brain’s capacity to function effectively may be a better path to overcoming this fear surrounding math. 

Math requires core thinking skills to be functioning effectively. If you have weaknesses in any of these areas, you’re more likely to feel dread and fear over math (or other learning) tasks:

• Working Memory is your ability to hold onto pieces of information long enough to use them. In math especially, working memory is critical for multi-step problems, word problems, complex equations, and even basic facts. 

• Visual Processing allows you to envision a solution in your head, as well as physically manipulate images, shapes, numbers, or letters in a task in front of you.

• Logic & Reasoning skills are essential for developing a plan and following multiple steps. If you or your child frequently get stuck on “what do I do next?” or even struggle with getting started, it could be a sign of weaknesses in this skill.

• Processing Speed is your ability to think quickly and efficiently. If your brain’s speed is slower, you’re more likely to get burned out, distracted, and frustrated with math-related tasks. Building processing speed can help all the other cognitive skills function more efficiently, as well. 

• Executive Functioning is a broader category of skills that govern your ability to conquer a task in front of you. These are the set of skills that allow you to plan, focus attention, remember, juggle multiple tasks, and self-regulate—all essential skills in math contexts. 

Strengthen Brain Skills to Overcome Math Anxiety

So if math anxiety isn’t necessarily about math, what can you do? One answer may be building cognitive abilities to make your brain more effective in all contexts.

Improving your cognitive capacity can make math tasks seem less daunting and more manageable, one step at a time. Building confidence and resilience along with these skills is essential, and that is where LearningRx focuses.

We don’t just do “brain games” or “math games.” Our targeted math training program builds these foundational learning skills in an environment that weeds out the fear of failure. Our encouraging atmosphere fosters growth and resilience because of our commitment to helping each client as an individual.

If you or a child struggles with math anxiety, we’d love to chat! Click here to contact us today and start the process to grow your confidence in math and beyond.