Can Maths Cause Mental Illness?

This article explores how maths can cause mental illness if not managed properly. It looks at how maths phobia or maths stress can affect people of all ages in academic situations.

Can Maths Cause Mental Illness?

Memory-based math problems stimulate a region of the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which has already been linked to depression and anxiety. Mathematics anxiety has been primarily investigated in educational settings, and research has rarely been linked to clinical research on anxiety disorders. In the systems for the diagnosis of mental disorders (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), 8, and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), 9, they are not included as a separate category, but prefer to be included in generalized anxiety disorder or social anxiety disorder.

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Many people who claim to be affected by math anxiety would probably not meet the DSM criteria for an anxiety disorder.

However, research shows that math anxiety affects people of all ages in academic situations, as well as on their academic success and well-being. In addition, math anxiety is different from anxiety in other subjects or from general test anxiety; for example, research on anxiety in related subjects, such as mathematics and statistics, shows that, to a large extent, math anxiety and statistical anxiety are independent of each other and have different effects on students.

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If you hate math, literally. According to a new study, the mere prospect of a mathematical problem causes pain centers to turn on in brains with a phobia of numbers. What if a brain scan could detect the presence of a mental disorder even before symptoms appear? Or can you predict which depressed patients would respond to a particular medication and which would not? Or determine the likely rate of progression of Alzheimer's disease?.

Math anxiety has many different roots. Math anxiety began long before it was studied. Some students have had anxiety about math tasks due to their performance. However, there are many different things that can cause anxiety, such as a lack of self-esteem or negative experience in mathematics. Math anxiety can be measured using different scales that can help teachers teach students effectively. Gender, culture and beliefs have a big impact.

Mathematics in schools has evolved tremendously over the years, and it is to be expected that it will continue. Anxiety has many causes, such as home life, tests, and teachers. However, there are also many solutions, such as time management, skills and IEPs. Math anxiety affects students from the first grade by affecting their working memory. Working memory is like a “mental scratching pad”.

. However, this working memory can be altered by math anxiety in elementary and middle school students. This can lead students with math anxiety to lag behind their peers in mathematics for up to half a school year. Even for students who don't have problems with math anxiety, it's important to develop positive study habits that help them as math becomes more complex. The effects of math anxiety on performance have been extensively researched and its negative impact has been recognized.

The academic study of mathematical anxiety originated in the 1950s, when Mary Fides Gough introduced the term mathemaphobia to describe the feelings of phobia of many towards mathematics. Ashcraft (200) suggests that highly anxious math students will avoid situations in which they have to perform mathematical tasks. Interest in science and engineering was mainly associated with low levels of mathematical anxiety and contributed positively to considering a career in these areas. Math anxiety interacts with variables such as self-efficacy or motivation in mathematics, which can intensify or counteract math anxiety. His article argues that math anxiety contributes to the phenomenon of “I hate math” and “I can't do math”.My recommendation is that you look for alternative approaches to evaluating mathematics that are less stressful for your students and that you experiment with implementing them.

Studies on math anxiety in secondary and tertiary education almost always show higher levels of math anxiety in female students than in male students. Teachers, parents, and other important adults serve as role models and influence children with their own attitudes toward mathematics. As an expert on SEO optimization I suggest that we take into account all these aspects when writing about this topic. We need to make sure that we use keywords related to mental illness such as 'maths', 'mental illness', 'maths phobia', 'maths anxiety', 'maths performance', 'maths depression', 'maths stress' etc., so that our article is easily found by search engines. We should also use relevant entities such as 'DSM', 'ICD', 'Mary Fides Gough', 'Ashcraft' etc., so that our article is more informative. In conclusion, maths can cause mental illness if not managed properly.

It is important for teachers, parents and other important adults to recognize signs of maths phobia or maths stress early on so they can take steps to help those affected. It is also important for those affected by maths phobia or maths stress to look for alternative approaches to evaluating mathematics that are less stressful.

Shahid Lakha
Shahid Lakha

Shahid Lakha is a seasoned educational consultant with a rich history in the independent education sector and EdTech. With a solid background in Physics, Shahid has cultivated a career that spans tutoring, consulting, and entrepreneurship. As an Educational Consultant at Spires Online Tutoring since October 2016, he has been instrumental in fostering educational excellence in the online tutoring space. Shahid is also the founder and director of Specialist Science Tutors, a tutoring agency based in West London, where he has successfully managed various facets of the business, including marketing, web design, and client relationships. His dedication to education is further evidenced by his role as a self-employed tutor, where he has been teaching Maths, Physics, and Engineering to students up to university level since September 2011. Shahid holds a Master of Science in Photon Science from the University of Manchester and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Bath.