math anxiety

[esther_greenwood]

hey i am assuming there’s a lotta people here who have dealt with anxiety longer than i have and i am looking for any helpful tips or maybe just someone to tell me that it gets better

so i have dealt with severe anxiety since i was 14 i have gad, social anxiety.. you name it i prob have it but the one that been bothering me the most lately is "math anxiety" since i am a stem student i been preforming poorly on my exams it truly breaks my heart because i work really hard like i would walk into that exam well prepared and having gone thro all the material but once i see the paper i panic i simply can’t do math under pressure or think straight at all, i am really passionate about my field of study and i’ve already spent too much time/effort into it so i can’t really change it .. i heard some unis provide math anxiety and dyslexia accommodations but unfortunately mine doesn’t do that .. my anxiety meds make me dizzy and sleepy so i can’t really take them before the exam.. i tried meditating before the exam and all those breathing techniques but nothing seems to work..i know it may sound like a stupid problem or something that everyone struggles with but i have missed countless opportunities and failed many exams because of this.. when i turn my paper half empty because i basically blacked out during the whole thing i can’t help but feel like a loser, i feel immense shame and guilt like i could have done so much better but here i am wasting everything away it’s just not fair .. so if you experienced something similar or have any helpful tips please let me know

[Hidden]

Any maths topic can be found on youtube just google - you will like there videos

[Dolphin14]

Welcome to the community

Do you mean you have test anxiety all around or only specific to math?

Have you discussed this with your prescriber? Maybe some of your medications need adjusting

🐬

[esther_greenwood in reply to Dolphin14]

Thank you

only specific to math

i did discuss it with my psychiatrist and she said "it’s just anxiety we can work on it with meds and therapy" whoever as i mentioned all my anxiety meds makes it really hard for me to focus

[Dolphin14 in reply to esther_greenwood]

Yes I can see that the meds would cause a problem. I hope something can be worked out.

I know stem is science based? What type of math goes with stem is it a calculus or something ?

[MadBunny]

May I ask what your field of study is ?

[esther_greenwood in reply to MadBunny]

I am finishing my masters degree in theoretical physics

[MadBunny in reply to esther_greenwood]

Wow! Hence the maths.

[62BlackBirds]

I had extreme test anxiety during college. OMG it was terrible and my memory is horrible. I finally was able to do two things that helped on test day. 1) I told myself over and over that I knew the material and it was annoying that I was overly anxious about the test. This was something I told myself repetitively before the test and it blocked out negative thoughts and thoughts that might cause me to lose what I had memorized for the test. 2) I had a very old comfortable cotton t-shirt that was my favorite and I wore that t-shirt to every test regardless if that meant wearing it for multiple days without washing it. Yes, I've washed it and stored it now for the last 20 years and still have it These were the things that worked for me

[esther_greenwood in reply to 62BlackBirds]

Thank you so much ! I actually tried the "comfort t-shirt" tip today and it kina helped, and just knowing other people struggled with this makes me feel less stupid and alone if you have any other practical advices please feel free to share em with me

[Felinity]

I totally sympathize! I always hated and feared math, and I freely admit I'm an idiot when it comes to numbers. I was just thinking yesterday that one good thing about being old is no more tests, lol! I'm not sure how to advise you, but have you ever considered a tutor? And anything that helps decrease your anxiety levels is good, I know when I'm too stressed my mind turns to mush. And remember that one test or exam is just that, your whole future doesn't depend on a single score. And I promise that school doesn't last forever, you have lots of good things ahead of you...things that are a lot more fun than math!😋

[esther_greenwood in reply to Felinity]

Thank you and you are right any day that passes by where you don’t have to use cosine is a win lol, i think it’s not about developing my math skills it’s more about learning how to preform under pressure which for some reason I simply can’t do so I really don’t see the point of getting a tutor, i know that it won’t last forever but I have been in school for 16 years and I am only 21 so it feels like forever plus getting this degree well heavily impact my career (which is all i have) so maybe that’s why i feel extremely pressured idk

[Hidden]

Have you spoken to your teachers about this? They are often receptive to people with disabilities and allowed different testing conditions for them.

In addition, there are basic anxiety techniques to fall back on such as meditation, CBT, exercise, and journaling.

[esther_greenwood in reply to Hidden]

no i haven’t i think they will prob make fun of me, mental health is basically a joke where i am from so unless i am having a mental breakdown in front of them they won’t care

[catsrock]

Hi, I'm a former math teacher and tutor and have worked with many students with this issue. It sounds like you are doing all the right things. One thing that helped my students was pausing and then using your five senses - what's one thing you can see, one you can feel, etc... It just got them out of their head for a moment and helped them focus. Also, are you allowed all the time you need because of your anxiety? Maybe not because of what you said about your uni, but wondering if time pressure part of it? You are so not alone in this. Happy to chat with you more about it if you'd like.

[esther_greenwood in reply to catsrock]

Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to my post , I really liked that technique you mentioned and I will def give it a try next time, usually we are all allowed about one n a half hour ( it’s never enough for me ) with no exceptions and yes time pressure is almost the only issue that I have with math, i am not great at it i would say my math skills are average but my problem solving ability is pretty good and I usually understand concepts quickly but unfortunately my scores never reflect how much effort I put in and idk why all I know is this issue started about five years ago and it got worst with time because I am becoming less and less confident it’s like this never ending cycle of i am terrified i will fail an exam so i mess it up because i am too anxious then i am even more terrified

[catsrock in reply to esther_greenwood]

Yep, that's a tough cycle to break. Anything you can do to get out of your head during the test hopefully will help. So sorry you're having such a hard time with this.