Arithmetic has always been an enigma to me right from my school days. I would often wake up sweating profusely in the middle of the night with nightmares of me in a maze of numbers and looking all lost and scared or find myself standing next to the black-board, in front of my class, with my teacher breathing down my neck and I am staring blankly at many numbers to calculate and equations to solve but my mind was all numb. As if the scare of arithmetic was not enough when later it teamed up with algebra, geometry, trigonometry and statistics they became a menacing combo with the sole purpose of terrifying me. Much later, when I chose Medicine as my goal in life I realized that this fear of numbers is called Numerophobia or Arithmophobia.
Back in school before I even knew what anxiety was, I noticed that every time the teacher would give out a test, I would immediately get the urge to go to the bathroom. My body was trying to make me run away from it. I never understood why do I need to solve 60 equations in 60 minutes! I think it is a lot of pressure on a child of seven, eight, nine years old. And not all young minds work those problems the same way. If equations are plain and simple for some they become a panic episode for others and send them into spirals! I know many kids who can’t even read an analogue clock without panicking!
Numerophobia, it is often an exaggerated, constant and irrational fear of numbers that can affect one’s daily routine. Performing complex mathematical computations becomes a herculean task, with individuals stuttering and sloughing through the ups and downs of number. In fact, just the thought of doing calculations in day-to-day life could potentially escalate into a meltdown. Even at work it’s hard for me to deal with numbers and measurements. I panic when I see them. While planning research I always spend much more time with our statistician than my colleagues do, much to the amusement of our team because I take that bit extra time and effort to understand what comes naturally to most.
Reassuring and encouraging mentorship can help
Just like other phobias have their origin in traumatic events, the root cause of Arithmophobia might also lie in a negative experience in one’s past. Failing or doing poorly in Mathematics at school could lead to a permanent fear of numbers. Having been the subject of ridicule, being spanked, scolded, bullied for not having done well in math exam could also trigger Numerophobia. Parents might unknowingly instill the fear of numbers in children. Mathematics is considered as one of the most important subjects, with Indian parents putting undue pressure on their children to excel in the same. Unlike literature, in mathematics you cannot be almost right, it is either full marks or zero! Parents realize this and their statements like: “Mathematics is hard, you will fail if you do not study” can add stress and also cause a child to fear numbers. Effective and encouraging mentorship in the formative years can help children to come out of this fear and bring about a change in their perception. Much later in middle school I came across a teacher Mr. Birendra Shanker, who eventually succeeded in establishing an uneasy and tenuous truce between me and mathematics. The fact that a basic knowledge will suffice, children don’t have to be Srinivasa Ramanujan or Albert Einstein and there is a life beyond mathematics should be ingrained in every child whenever they exhibit the first signs of this phobia.
Some special Numerophobias
Do you remember a famous English Cricket umpire Mr. David Sheppard dancing on his toes and refusing to stand still with both feet firmly planted on the ground when the score reached 111 or 222 or 333? You can call it a superstition, but this is a mini phobia. Some might specifically fear numbers such as 13 (Triskaidekaphobia), 666 (Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia), or 8 (Octophobia) which are typically associated with Bad Luck, evil spirits etc. Such phobias usually have cultural or religious roots that are often aggravated by media and folklore.
Former President Ronald Reagan had the street number of his home in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, changed from 666 to 668. In Asia, 4 is considered an especially unlucky number in countries like China, Vietnam, and Japan because it is something of a homophone for the word "death" in the local languages. So hotels don’t have Room and Floor No.4 and companies like Cannon and Samsung do not have Model/Version 4! However, the fear of 13 is the commonest. This has been linked to early Christians, and the number 13 appears in a lot of Biblical traditions. (There were 13 people at the Last Supper, for example, and Judas is said to be the 13th person to join the table.)
When should parents get serious about Numerophobia?
When parents experience any of these in their children it is time to get professional help:
1. Avoidance behavior– A child with Numerophobia might cry or scream at the thought of going to school (Didaskaleinophobia). She/he is often unable to express these fears leading to wrongful diagnosis of cause of this anxiety. Adults having Arithmophobia might also try finding ways of avoiding numbers. This might affect them in their career or personal lives. Often they might be embarrassed about their problem. They might lie or cover up their inability to deal with the issue, leading to strained relationships.
2. Anxiety attack - Some tend to fear numbers so much that it leads to a full blown anxiety attack– sweating profusely, feeling like running away or hiding, having elevated heart beat, breathing rapidly are some signs. The phobic also feels detached from reality- she/he might experience a dry mouth, feel numbness or confusion, or may be unable to express one’s thoughts clearly.
3. Often the phobic might be able to work with numbers, but might experience deep anxiety while doing so. So self confession of help should not be ignored.
What is the remedy?
Gradual exposure therapy with help of a trained practitioner can also help one overcome Arithmophobia. This includes looking at numbers, thinking about them and then progressing to solving simple to complex numerical computations.
Counseling, talk therapy, anxiolytics and hypnotherapy are some other proven remedies for overcoming Numerophobia.
Numbers have a way of torturing you
Do you remember the dreaded report card that you had to get signed by your parents ever six months when you were in school? The numbers in them against every subject, in black, blue or God forbid, red had a terror story behind them. Those numbers had a serene truth to tell and were cruel in their infallibility! They were our performance indicators and told the story of our mastery of the subject or lack of it. They also conveyed the strength of our character – did we study regularly or only before exams? Did we choose to catch up on missed lessons or play cricket in the evenings? Were you diligently attending classes or watching Rekha and Hema Malini movies first day first show after bunking classes?
Even today when I don’t have to attend classes and all movies are freely available on YouTube numbers keep on torturing me in their new Avatar. Just like I hated report cards I hate my pathology reports. I don’t want to know my Blood Sugar, HbA1C, Serum Creatnine, LDL, HDL, VLDL, PSA but what I hate most are the numbers on my weighing scale. They only taunt me and tell me without mercy that my self control is non-existent and strength of character is near Aryabhatta’s zero! And just like my school report card these reports are a crystal ball providing a glimpse at my bleak future health. But just as I managed to dodge the former, I intend to prove the latter wrong too.
Numbers can hold nations hostage
Today India is celebrating because it has piped her erstwhile conqueror Great Britain and become the 5th largest economy but when we are challenged by other numbers like per capita income, infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate and malnutrition score we have nowhere to hide. Almost every government ministry is embarrassed by the Comptroller & Auditor General every year when it submits its audit report of spending, revenue collections or aid/grant received by them. The stock market swings between bulls and bears depending upon the numbers depicting stock prices. Even the meteorologists, environmentologists and space scientists scare us with numbers.
Numbers are necessary evils. They grade us, they guide us and they show us our path of progress but no one can deny that they are scary!
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