The Healing Power of Cooking for Mental Wellness
Finding Serenity Through Cooking: Mental Health Benefits in the Kitchen
Remember during the COVID-19 pandemic when most of us were homebound, a considerable number of people started attempting to bake the perfect loaf of sourdough. There is something about cooking that creates a feeling of comfort, especially during times of stress. While medical professionals have touted the physical health benefits of cooking homemade meals for years, learning about the mental health benefits of cooking is still in the preliminary stages. However, what evidence we have so far looks promising.
Discovering Flow and Reducing Anxiety in the Kitchen
Flow is a term coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and it refers to complete cognitive immersion into a task. At this level of creativity, the participant loses awareness of time and self. For many people, cooking offers this type of intense engagement that can lead to joy and fulfillment.
Cooking is a creative process and, as such, can be meditative. Many recipes don’t require you to follow the directions perfectly and allow for a bit of personalization. Taking some time to let your mind be engrossed in the culinary zone by chopping colorful vegetables into slivers, contemplating spices, and watching the food caramelize in the pan can be helpful in focusing the brain on the present moment.
For those with high levels of anxiety, the sensory experiences involved with the cooking process, like smelling a sharp tang of citrus, feeling the pebbled texture of an avocado, and seeing the range of colors of the ingredients, can have a calming effect. Cooking can be a type of active mindfulness that some people may find more helpful than sitting with their eyes closed or trying to do yoga.
Building Connections Through Culinary Activities
Cooking can also be an excellent way to branch out socially. Cooking classes, meals made with friends, and cooking meetups or clubs are ways crafting meals can be a social activity. Both preparing and eating food have brought people together since human beings have existed.
Someone experiencing social anxiety may find that a cooking class can be an excellent way to meet new people without a lot of pressure. There is a focus on a project, light social interaction with a common interest, and you can choose your level of verbal participation.
The Power of Group Cooking for Mental Wellness
Cooking in groups can be done for therapeutic reasons as a mental health group; it can be a means of teaching culture through food or as a social club. Even getting together and cooking with a friend or family member can be an excellent way to improve your mood. Any group cooking activity can be beneficial for well-being, as social activity is a positive factor for mental health. We are, after all, social creatures.
Nourishing the Mind-Body Connection
Among the benefits of cooking is that creating homemade meals can help you eat healthier. There are cooking classes that specifically focus on styles of cooking that promote health. After a heart attack or stroke, some rehab programs will offer classes to teach patients to create more heart-healthy meals to make at home.
There are links between healthy lifestyle factors like exercise and eating a varied and heart-healthy diet and improved mental health outcomes. Likewise, improved mental health has a positive effect on physical health. Cooking your own homemade meals can be effective as a therapeutic intervention and also a way to improve physical health, which can create a positive feedback loop of mental and physical well-being.
Embracing Culinary Therapy
If you have an affinity for cooking or are open to trying a new activity to improve mental health, why not look into culinary therapy? Here are some activities involved in culinary therapy that might bring joy, connection, and inspiration to your life:
- Learning new skills – like how to filet a fish, cook using a wok, or bake homemade sourdough bread – in order to show yourself that you can do new things
- Collaborating with a “co-chef” to improve communication and teamwork skills
- Following the instructions of a recipe to increase your focus and learn where you can make deviations
- Trying unfamiliar ingredients and verbalizing the flavors to strengthen the mind-body connection and diversify what you typically eat on a regular basis
- Discovering how to make a recipe passed down by a loved one – perhaps one who has recently passed – in order to heal and establish positive associations with their memory
- Making more challenging recipes or 2- or 3-course meals in order to bolster your multi-tasking skills
The above list is hardly exhaustive when it comes to what culinary therapy might entail for you. Just as cooking affords the chef a range of flexibility, so, too, can culinary therapy be customized based on your needs and goals.
The Therapeutic Impact of Cooking
Research shows that cooking may positively influence psychosocial outcomes and that community-based cooking interventions demonstrated a positive influence on socialization, self-esteem, affect, and quality of life. Occupational therapists often use cooking interventions during rehab to relearn or strengthen cognitive skills, as well as enhance physical endurance and promote greater mental well-being.
Culinary Therapy as a Mental Health Tool
Culinary therapy can also be used in psychosocial programs for mental health issues. In 2022, an Australian research team studied the effects of a seven-week cooking program on a number of factors, including cooking confidence, ability to change eating habits, behavior surrounding food, and overcoming lifestyle barriers. This study found that while the cooking classes did not change eating habits, it did report that participants showed significant improvements in general physical health and mental health.
Managing Stress and Anxiety Through Cooking
Culinary therapy may be used in conjunction with talk therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to address mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cooking programs can help promote mental well-being while learning how to manage stress and improve self-esteem.
Telehealth therapy – offered through platforms like ReachLink – may streamline this process by allowing you to meet with a licensed clinical social worker over video chat who can support your mental health journey alongside your culinary exploration. Advantages of participating in telehealth therapy include the ability to attend sessions from any location with a wireless connection and the flexibility to choose appointment times that are compatible with your schedule.
Telehealth therapy has been shown to be just as effective as traditional in-person therapy, and it’s more accessible than it has ever been. In conjunction, a systematic review found that online therapy can effectively support individuals managing various mental health conditions, making it a viable complement to culinary therapy. Combining these approaches offers an innovative pathway to holistic wellness, catering to both the practical and emotional aspects of mental health.
In summary, cooking is much more than a necessary life skill—it is a powerful avenue for fostering mental well-being. From providing meditative flow and sensory engagement to facilitating social connections and promoting healthier lifestyles, the kitchen can be a sanctuary for the mind as well as the body. Whether you’re experimenting with new recipes, joining a cooking group, or engaging in culinary therapy, the act of preparing food has the potential to nurture resilience, reduce stress, and enhance quality of life.
As we continue to explore the intersection of food and mental health, consider embracing cooking as a mindful practice that supports your emotional wellness. Through deliberate engagement in culinary activities, you can cultivate a deeper connection to yourself and others, creating moments of serenity amid the demands of everyday life. Ultimately, the kitchen may hold the key not only to nourishing your body but also to healing and strengthening your mind.
