4 Externalise it

• Talk to someone about your maths anxieties. This might be a friend or colleague or a professional. The adage ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ exists because it is a well known useful technique.
• Journalling – keeping a log of your thoughts and emotions can help to clear your mind. In addition, by writing down your experiences during the day or week it may also help you recognise patterns in your experiences. Perhaps you find that your anxiety peaks during particular times such as when you’re tired or hungry. This could therefore help you find ways to pre-empt higher maths anxiety levels and take preventative action.
• Expressive writing – writing down your worries and concerns prior to doing some maths has been shown to help with maths anxiety, and also maths performance [2].
• Creativity – think about other creative ways that you can express your feelings about maths anxiety.