1. Acknowledge your Feelings
2. Adopt a Growth Mindset
3. Practice Regularly
4. Use Real-Life Examples
5. Build Confidence Gradually
Supportive resources are key with each of these steps.
1. Acknowledge your Feelings
Start by admitting how you feel about math - no judgement! Being aware of your emotions is an important step, because once you LABEL and IDENTIFY emotions, you can tackle it head-on.
I have seen countless anxious students lost in a sea of emotions. These are :
• memorizing multiplication tables
• fractions
• factoring
• "thinking TIPS" level questions
• math contest
Math requires thinking clarity.
It is impossible to think clearly when feelings have paralyzed your brain.
I suffered from math anxiety well into my career. Anxiety magnifies when you're on the stage and people are wondering about your ability as a teacher.
I faked it until I made it.
I remember trying to prove the quadratic formula in front of the class, forgetting the next step. I faked it and kept going, making further mistakes, digging myself into a set of nested mistakes. I was sweating, I could hear my heart beat, and my voice was shaking.
How did I make it through?
By admitting my mistake. Being honest with my students and myself. It gives a free slate to start from and I was able to correct my mistake the next day with some proper studying.
Faking it "worked", but it's an inefficient way of learning how to deal with emotions. It took years of practice to gain confidence and experience.
It's been a process, but what really helped was my practice in mindfulness.
I am watching a few of my students fake it. I know it well, because I did it for many years.
I've been trying to teach a few students to identify and work with their feelings. It's a combination of practice, confidence, but most importantly - mindfulness.
I've suggested and personally use Andrew Huberman's Physiological Sigh (deep inhale + extra inhale, then deep exhale + extra exhale) as well as "6-6 breathing" which works on activating the vagus nerve.
It's been an interesting year, and I have to step it up as many of my students will be taking exams for the first time!
This completes part 1) of Conquering Math Anxiety.
Zooming out, I feel the 5-step process outlined above can be applied to learning anything. Do any of these steps resonate with you?
Part 2 coming up soon!
