Why dusting off your apron can be good for your mind
It’s no secret that 2020 has been a worrying year for mental health.
According to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, the percentage of people reporting anxiety or depression symptoms in the past seven days has hovered around 30% during the pandemic (peaking in July at 36%). This is nearly three times last year’s estimate of 11%!
From the pandemic cooping us up indoors and severing the social connections that usually make our brains happy to the constant onslaught of “it can’t get worse than this, and then it does” news, it’s not surprising that there’s a surge in people feeling hopeless about the world.
But interestingly enough, the pandemic may also be serving up a solution to our mental health challenges by forcing us to get back in the kitchen.
This may sound bizarre (at least, it did to me when I first read it) but there’s a budding field in therapy called culinary arts therapy.
It’s funny because growing up, my mom always said to us, “Cooking for me is like therapy, I can be mindful about what I am making and am so happy to create something to nurture others.” I always thought she was being a tad dramatic but turns out she’s not alone!
Culinary arts therapy uses cooking as a form of expression to encourage self-care, mindfulness and social connection, and has proven impact in helping with anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. Unlike talk therapy sessions, culinary therapy involve cooking a meal with your therapist, with the act of cooking serving multiple objectives:
First, participating in an activity — instead of just sitting on a couch — can make it easier for people to relax and engage in deeper conversations with their therapist or with others in a group therapy session.
Second, the act of cooking requires mindful attention — following the recipe, slicing and dicing the ingredients, toggling between different tools and techniques — that culinary therapists believe can be meditative. With the simple act of throwing ingredients in a pan, hearing a sizzle, smelling the food as it sautés, and tasting it for salt, cooking requires you to engage all your senses.
Third, being able to create something delicious on your own is a unique feeling. Learning to feed yourself, especially if it is nutritious and tasty, can feel empowering and is also beneficial for your long-term health. Feeding others, and seeing them relish it, brings a special kind of joy and deepens your connection with the people you’re feeding. Cooking creates special bonds — remember your favourite childhood treat? Or that recipe from your grandmother that you cherish?
So, as much as COVID-19 has given us a reason to despair, it may also be encouraging us to indulge in an activity that can improve our mental health. In a recent survey, 56% of respondents said they were cooking more often during the pandemic — although I guess we didn’t really need a survey to tell us that. The spike in artsy sourdough shots, Iron-Chef level plated dinners and, now, new home chef and baking startups, says it all.
Who knows, maybe cooking through the pandemic can help us cope better. Either way, it doesn’t hurt that I’m coming out on the other side with a new life skill.
Sources:
- https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health.htm
- https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/28/health/sw-culinary-arts-therapy-cooking/index.html
- https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/how-culinary-art-therapy-can-improve-mental-health
- https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Blog/Cooking-and-Organizing-Are-Top-Screenless-Activities-During-Pandemic
