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Ever said any of these phrases?
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You might have math anxiety.
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Math Anxiety is a feeling of worry or uneasiness that interferes with the ability to do math.
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It's been shown to decrease working memory, which is a part of your short term memory that holds information while solving problems.
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So math anxiety doesn't just make you feel nervous.
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It can actually hurt your math performance.
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This could make your anxiety worse, creating a loop that's hard to break out off.
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But the good news is you can break out of the cycle.
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Here are five tips to help.
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Write about your anxiety.
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Studies have shown that people who wrote about their frustrations and worries before taking a math test actually performed better.
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Strengthen your foundation.
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Math often builds on a set of basic skills like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
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Practice a little every day to build your confidence.
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Show all of your work.
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Because math anxiety takes away working memory.
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The more you can write down, the less your brain has to hold.
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This can also help you check your work once you're finished.
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Relieve stress.
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Anxiety can also cause physical symptoms like shortness of breath and increased heart rate.
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Combat these physical symptoms by practicing meditation or breathing exercises.
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Think positive.
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Math Anxiety is mostly built on the worry that you won't be able to do the math.
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Therefore, self efficacy or the belief that you can do something is a counter-effect.
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Ditch phrases like I'm not good at math and replace them with.
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I can do this.
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Everyone encounters math at some point, so it's important not to let Math Anxiety hold you back.
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