How to reverse the effects of math trauma

Short answer: Math trauma is a lasting fear of math that starts with a negative experience in math class, such as feeling humiliated or getting a bad grade. You can reverse it by rebuilding understanding and confidence: recognize patterns, practice daily with gradually harder problems, make math fun with games or puzzles, and get one-on-one support from a patient tutor.

Middle school and high school can be a difficult time for many students. There’s a lot of pressure to do well academically, and math class can be particularly daunting. For some students, this anxiety turns into “math trauma.”

Key points

• Where it starts: A humiliating moment or a bad grade in math class can lead to a lasting fear of math.
• Avoidance makes it worse: Math anxiety can push students to avoid math altogether, causing further setbacks.
• Lasting effects: Adults with math anxiety may avoid budgeting, investing, and other everyday math.
• Struggle is not inability: Struggling with math doesn’t mean a student isn’t good at it.
• Daily practice helps: A daily routine with gradually harder problems builds speed, accuracy and confidence.
• Get help early: Many people with math trauma say they wish they had gotten help sooner.

What is math trauma?

Math trauma can occur when a student has a negative experience in math class, such as feeling humiliated or getting a bad grade, which leads to a fear of mathematics. Math anxiety can cause students to avoid math altogether, leading to further setbacks.

While not everyone who struggles in math class will develop math trauma, the condition is fairly common. However, it’s important to remember that just because someone struggles with math doesn’t mean they’re not good at it. With the right support, students with math trauma can overcome their anxiety and succeed in mathematics.

How does math trauma affect students later in life?

Math anxiety and math trauma can lead to a number of problems in adulthood:

• Personal finances: people who are anxious about math may shy away from budgeting and investing, which can have lifelong repercussions.
• Social situations: math anxiety can lead to social anxiety, as people may avoid situations where they might need to use math, such as going out to dinner with friends.

Math trauma survivors often say that they wish they had gotten help sooner. If you or someone you know is struggling with math anxiety, there are resources available to help.

“Students are afraid they’re behind, and they don’t want to be embarrassed. But this should never be about ego. It’s simply: where are you, what do we need to learn, and why does it matter?”

Jake Gerhardt, Alexander Tutoring math tutor

How do you overcome math trauma?

Being good at math takes understanding, practice and a little bit of fun:

1. Build understanding. Recognizing patterns is a critical part of understanding math, and after understanding comes practice.
2. Practice every day. A daily math routine with increasing difficulty is essential for students to maintain their skills and become faster and more accurate with their computations.
3. Make it fun. Incorporating games or puzzles can help students stay interested and excited about learning.
4. Boost confidence with a tutor. If you fear your student is at risk of math trauma, the best solution is to boost their confidence in the subject by working with a tutor.

Tutor tip: Keep the daily routine short and start a little below where your student is comfortable. Early wins rebuild confidence, and the difficulty can rise from there.

How can a math tutor help reverse math trauma?

Working with a trusted math tutor can give students the individualized attention they need to gain confidence and excel in math. A tutor can provide one-on-one attention and assistance, target areas of weakness, and help students get ahead in advanced subjects.

Individual math tutors are great at offering encouragement, support, and keeping students motivated. For students who are struggling in math, a tutor can make all the difference. Learn more about how confidence relates to mathematics and building a growth mindset.

We love math, we think math is fun, and we love to share our passion with students to help them overcome their math anxiety:

• We are empathetic educators. We remember how intimidating math can be, and how it can make you feel. The struggle is real. Our goal is to help convert those negatives into positives, especially in online classrooms.
• We are math and science enthusiasts. We are here to make math cool again. Math is the door and key to the sciences. We invite you to see mathematics through our eyes.
• We are passionate inspirationists. We know math is about creativity and making sense of our world. Let us build your child’s confidence by exploring the language of our universe.

How does math tutoring work?

1. Get in touch. Contact us to tell us about your child.
2. Get a custom plan. We will create a custom plan for you or your child.
3. Try a lesson. Your first lesson is risk-free, so you can see if we are the right fit.

We look forward to a friendly discussion about how we can help your child transform math and physics anxiety into genuine confidence, fascination, and understanding.

Frequently asked questions