Mathematics anxiety is often defined as a state of discomfort concerning the performance of mathematical tasks. Researches posit that such circumstances cause stress and have a negative impact on academics (Hubbard & Byler, 2006). This is important because being overstressed inhibits one’s use of their working memory (WM) and attention. As you will recall WM is theorized to have limited capacity. It holds information before we commit it to long-term memory. In this scenario WM holds the symbols, operators, and variables that we manipulate to solve mathematical problems. Attention pertains to one’s ability to block out irrelevant feelings such fear and worry that hinder the storage and retrieval of information that creates knowledge.

The good news is that ordinary people have successfully used stress management techniques to perform well under stressful conditions. You can too. These techniques lessen the formerly mentioned WM and attentional challenges. Scientists have demonstrated the effectiveness of these techniques in various academic settings. The use of progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) has demonstrated significant positive results in controlling stress and anxiety regarding math performance. PMR is a technique that involves tensing and relaxing specific muscle groups in a specific order to decrease the physiological aspects of anxiety while distracting people from their awareness of anxious feelings.

The results of several studies suggest that PMR improves a person’s ability to focus their attention on a central task and execute its required operation while inhibiting unrelated info. PMR training is an effective technique for the reduction of tension, anxiety, and physiological arousal that are associated with math anxiety. The next time you feel anxious about performing a math task try PMR to improve your performance. Here is a sample PMR script for your review.

Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to an individual’s awareness of their emotions, the emotions of others, and the ability to manage them and act appropriately. These abilities are important for individuals that work in helping professions, sales, and public relations. These skills are also important to individuals needing to maintain or improve personal relationships such as students, teachers, parents, and pastors. In other words everyone needs EI. Researchers commonly assumed that EI has five components. They are:

Self-awareness. The ability to recognize and understand personal dispositions and emotions and drives, as well as their effect on others.

Self-regulation. The capability to governor or redirect troublesome impulses and moods, and the tendency to suspend judgment and to think before acting.

Internal motivation. A desire to perform for intrinsic reasons that go beyond income and fame -which are external rewards, – such as, a joy in doing something or curiosity in learning.

Empathy. The ability to understand the emotional nature of other people and responding to their their emotional reactions.

Social skills. The knack for managing relationships and building networks of people by finding common ground and rapport.

Many successful people have these skills and the good news is that with training you can improve their your EI. Abe et al. (2013) demonstrated this point in a pilot intervention for medical students. The results of their study indicate that skills training can make an immediate and long-term impact on the emotional awareness of individuals. It is important to note that the skills training focused on building skills needed for self-awareness and empathy. The primary activities in the intervention involved expressing one feelings and listening to others.