Mathematics as a subject is perceived to be difficult, obscure and are only meant for the supremely intelligent. It is almost as though it is normal that one is afraid of math or is no good at the subject. Often, this perception causes people to suffer from math anxiety. Anxiety is stress, tension, and strain on one’s body and mind. Anxiety can be broken down into two types: Somatic or the loss control of body. Some symptoms are sweaty palms, pain in neck or sick to the stomach. The other is Cognitive or loss of concentration. Its symptoms include negative self-talk, feelings of doubt, or mind wanders from test or tasks.

Many students might say that anxiety in class inhibits them or reduces their ability to perform well. In the case of mathematics, they would be correct. Psychological researches have somehow ascertained that math anxiety causes students of all levels to perform poorly in math.

For some students, trouble in math is driven by problems with language. These children may also experience difficulty with reading, writing, and speaking. In math, however, their language problem is confounded by the naturally difficult terminology, some of which, they only hear in math class. These students have an uncomfortable time understanding written or verbal directions or explanations, and find word problems especially hard to translate. A common difficulty also experienced by people with math problems is the inability to easily connect the abstract aspects of math with reality. Understanding what symbols represent in the physical world is important to how well and how easily a child will remember a concept.

Some key methods to conquering math anxiety center on not avoiding the problem. Just because they believe it’s tough, one will presume that it can not overcome the anxiety.

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