1 What is maths anxiety?

Studying subjects that include maths can evoke a range of emotions. For some it’s a thrilling challenge – they find it exciting and rewarding to solve problems and see progress. But for others the experience can be quite different. They may start to panic when they study maths, with the heightened anxiety leading to mental or physical symptoms. These responses can create a cycle, where the negative feelings about maths can inhibit the ability to study maths, which increases the negative feelings. This struggle can stay limited to certain maths topics or time periods, or it may affect all aspects of study. It could cause those affected to avoid engagement, or display other signs of behaviour that undermine progress. It can stem from a negative past experience, or a pressure to perform, or lack of confidence – but sometimes there’s simply no clear reason why people struggle.

Figure 1 Experiencing anxiety

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A photograph of a boy in a beige hoodie, covering his face with his hand, standing in front of a blackboard filled with mathematical symbols and equations.

Figure 1 Experiencing anxiety

If someone experiences negative emotions specifically when studying maths-related subjects, this suggests they’re suffering from some degree of maths anxiety. Research indicates that if individuals identify with a number of the statements below, it’s a likely indication of maths anxiety (Betz, 1978). Recognising this is often the first step towards finding strategies to manage and overcome it.

• I get really nervous when someone asks me to solve a maths problem
• My mind goes blank and I am unable to think clearly when it involves maths
• I get a sinking feeling when I think about doing a hard maths problem
• Maths makes me feel uneasy and confused
• I’ve never been good at solving maths problems
• Maths makes me feel uncomfortable and nervous
• I disliked studying maths
• I don’t enjoy doing maths tests
• I get upset during maths tests
• I don’t want to study more maths

Please note: there is a specific learning difficulty called ‘dyscalculia’ that affects the ability to understand, learn and perform maths and number-based calculations. Dyscalculia makes learning maths much harder, and while this may cause anxiety, this OpenLearn course does not look at this specific condition. There are certain methods that can be used to make studying with dyscalculia easier. If you’d like to find out more about dyscalculia, there’s a link to resources from the organisation National Numeracy listed in the references at the end of this session.