Overcoming Math Trauma: Insights from The Math Guru

Hey Mathsational readers! 👋

I recently attended a fantastic presentation by Vanessa Vakharia, also known as "The Math Guru," which focused on helping students overcome their fear of math. It was packed with actionable insights, and I'm excited to share the key takeaways with you. The central theme of the presentation, titled "Math Therapy 101," is that we may not all be math teachers, but we are all teachers of math attitudes. If you ever get the chance to see her speak, I highly recommend you go.

What is Math Trauma? 🤔

Math trauma is a negative experience with math that persists long after the event itself. It is not just a single moment but a buildup of experiences that can cause a student to feel unworthy or perpetually invalidated. Vakharia, who failed Grade 11 math twice, emphasized how comments like "You're not trying hard enough" or "You're not even doing REAL math" can contribute to this trauma.


Math anxiety manifests physically and mentally as a fear state, triggering a "fight, flight, freeze, or fawn" response. On a deeper level, it often taps into one of the "5 Primal Fears" identified by Karl Albrecht:

  • Ego Death: "What if I'm actually not smart?!" 🧠. 

  • Separation: "What if everyone judges me & I end up alone?!" 😥. 

  • Loss of Autonomy: "What if I actually can't learn things?!" 🤖. 

  • Mutilation: "What if people make fun of me?!" 😂. 

  • Extinction: "What if I have no future?!" 😵.

The Cycle of Fear, Anxiety, and Avoidance 🔁

Vakharia explained a five-step cycle that traps students in math anxiety.

  1. Fear Trigger: A simple event, like a teacher announcing a test, can be a trigger.

  2. Anticipatory Anxiety: The student's mind immediately goes to catastrophic "what if" scenarios, such as "Omg what if I try studying and can't do it and I fail and my life literally ENDS?!".

  3. Avoidance: To escape this anxiety, the student avoids studying, choosing to scroll through TikTok

  4. Short-Term Relief: The avoidance offers temporary relief—"Out of sight, out of mind".

  5. Reinforced Anxiety: The cycle reinforces the idea that studying is impossible, increasing the fear and making future avoidance more likely.

When students operate from this place of fear, their natural curiosity and joy for math can't flourish.

Breaking the Cycle with CBT Strategies 🛠️

To break this cycle, Vakharia recommends using strategies based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which shows students that their worst-case scenarios are not as catastrophic as they seem. She outlined three main strategies:

1. Cognitive Restructuring 💡

This involves turning unproductive thoughts into helpful ones to keep moving forward. One method is Gabby Bernstein's "Choose Again Method," which pairs old, negative thoughts with new, positive ones. For example, replacing "I never get anything right" with a more constructive thought.

2. Exposure 🏃‍♀️

The idea here is that by doing the thing we're scared of in a safe, controlled way, the fear begins to fade. This can involve "pointing out the lowkey mathing that's happening" in everyday life, showing students they are already engaging with math without realizing it.

3. Task Scaling 📈

Instead of a large, intimidating task, this strategy involves taking small, less threatening steps. An excellent example is using "Opinion-Based Questions." Instead of asking for a single correct answer, ask a question like, "Which one doesn't belong?" when showing students different images. This reduces anxiety and encourages students to participate without the pressure of being right or wrong. For example, you could modify a standard word problem into an opinion-based question.


By implementing these strategies, we can assist students in replacing negative math memories with positive ones, steering them away from fear and toward a healthier relationship with math. Remember, healing math trauma begins with us, the educators.

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