Overcoming Fear of Mathematics: A Personal Experience

The article talks about a personal experience of overcoming fear of mathematics and how it helped in improving performance. It also provides strategies and tips to overcome fear of math.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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PSYCHOLOGY
From the very childhood, one of the subjects that I have always dreaded is mathematics. I
often used to have nightmares before the day of mathematics exam in school. I used to have poor
scores every time but somehow managed to pass with borderline marks. In course of time, my
fear for math reached to such an intense level that I stopped going for tuitions and often avoided
practicing of math in home as well. I always tried to escape from the situations when my parents
wanted to sit with me and help me with mathematics. My teachers in school criticized such
escapist attitude heavily. They used to complain about my poor performance to my parents.
However, they still failed in making me love the subject.
However, in standard eight, I failed miserably in mathematics subject. I was made fun at
by my classmates in front of the class and summoned me with various funny names. Such
failures also made my parents feel hopeless of the situation. They were so disappointed that they
stopped seeing hopes in me. I was quite surprised when I saw them not to counsel me this time
like every time when I scored poorly in the subject. The hopelessness that I witnessed in their
eyes hurt me to such an extent that I felt like crying. They felt humiliated when they used to talk
with the guardians of other children. Even they felt embarrassed when communicating about my
scores with my relatives. I realized how I was wasting my parents; hard earned money by not
fulfilling the minimum expectations of my parents from me. My father who used to summon me
the first when he returned home from work stopped talking with me due to his despair. I realized
I need to prove myself and make my parents proud. I need to work hard in mathematics and
regain back their trust on me. I wanted to see the hope in their eyes that they had regarding my
career and my future. I decided to overcome my fear and come out victorious.
I sought help from my uncle who was also a teacher and counselor in one of the
renowned university of the nation. He not only counseled me and helped me in developing self-

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PSYCHOLOGY
confidence that helped me to overcome my fear. I did not allow my failure to take over my life
and expectations that people had from me. He asked me to face my fear and not to escape from
such situations. Only facing situations can help individuals to overcome the barriers. Escaping or
running away from the situation can never make individuals reach the zenith of success. Some of
the strategies that my uncle advised were always being positive. Negative feelings hurt the self-
esteem and confidence. My parents and teacher’s continuous encouragement helped me in
improving my mathematical skills and encouraged me to work out problems every day without
missing single day. I set myself a particular time for practice. My investment of extra time and
effort helped in bringing great changes in both my attitude towards the subject and performance.
My uncle taught me in ways by which mathematics seemed fun for me and I started perceiving
math as a creative subject. I engaged myself in regular mock-tests and never procrastinated. In
course of time, I overcome my fear and become quite confident. I participated in maths
completion and won it. In this way, I made my parents proud of me. From that year onward, my
scores improved and never failed in the subject anymore.