Is Cooking Therapeutic: Beneficial for Stress Management

I have seen whenever I have been stressed, depressed, having a bad/terrible day have ended up in the kitchen and immersed myself in cooking, which somehow brings my anxiety level down, get a feeling satisfaction and also makes me feel happy that I could cook something nice for family and they are having a satisfying meal.

Whether it is for yourself or anybody, It gives one sense of creativity, and freedom to express your creativity through creating a dish, this gives one a sense of control as you are in control of the process of cooking and the outcome you are entirely responsible for or in one’s hand.

Especially in this pandemic time, as we cannot go out tend to get bored being in between these four walls and also one cannot excessively see television as it also full depressing news and full of statistics, have heard many people have spent their time in the kitchen and whipped many dishes together, which can help in reducing your anxiety levels and also aroma coming out of the cooking process is a wonderful stress reliever.

Another reason cooking can be therapeutic because cooking can be immersive and needs a lot of attention as one has to follow a recipe or steps in cooking i.e., the types of ingredients change as per the dish, the quantity of ingredients also changes, and mostly the process also changes. So, all these factors one has to very engaging in the whole process to get the final outcome. It can be engaging for all the senses, which again is a good way of relieving stress i.e., the aroma of the spices get cooked, sounds of the cooking i.e., oil cracking, sizzling of the vegetables, aroma coming out of baking all can be help one reducing anxiety. If you have noticed if we are crossing any bakery or restaurant the aroma which you can smell is very therapeutic or you can say satisfying and makes you feel hungry 😊

Cooking also reinforces the skill sets you possess and sense accomplishment after you finish cooking an elaborate or simple meal. Have heard many telling me cooking so soothing. In fact, when many people also consider cooking as very skillful and have high respect for chefs with the latest advent of cooking shows and also social media exposing us to many new cuisines, which require the skillset to cook.

There have been many studies conducted to prove the same, that cooking is therapeutic and can be used as a treatment of anxiety, depression, and even grief and loss. And also, when you are feeding your family the primary instinct that you have been responsible to provide, and also sometimes the act of giving is also satisfying.

On a lighter note, we sometimes cannot generalize that cooking is therapeutic as many people who do not have the skills or the penchant for cooking, might end up being stressful and cause anxiety 😊. Maybe one meal cannot solve the problem, but at least you end up having a good and tasty meal 😊

I think nothing beats a simple meal but a satisfying meal 😊.

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon #blogchatterhalfmarathon