After a busy, stressful day at the office, you always feel like what you need is take-out food or to throw something into the microwave. However, if you cook at home, you could not only end up with a healthier meal but also less stress.
An article on the Wall Street Journal talks about how clinics are using cooking therapy to treat mental health issues. If you do not have a mental health issue, you can use cooking therapy to relieve stress. Instead of seeing cooking as a chore, you can view it as a fun activity that can help you stay stress-free.
Counselors intimate that the cooking courses soothe stress, reduce negative thinking and build confidence. When you cook, you focus on following recipes and have no time for negative thoughts.
- The Love for Food Is Sincere
Most people love food. Food is one of the things that connect people. When people meet somewhere, they always meet over drinks or food. If you love food, the best way to follow your passion is to get into the kitchen and try out as many recipes as possible.
When you love food, you will concentrate more on making good food, and you will have no time for stress.
- Aroma and Stress
The spices and aromatic ingredients in your food have been known to curb stress. When you are frying onions, you tend to concentrate on the aroma. Aromatherapy, which is the use of aroma to manage stress, has gained a lot of attention in recent years.
While there are no conclusive studies on aromatherapy, preliminary studies show that aroma can reduce levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. There are different ways to get the aroma, including aroma massage and perfumes, but the aroma of food is natural.
- Test Your Creativity
Cooking is an art. When you follow a recipe, you want to have the best results – this is why you follow different recipes every day. Cooking involves a fair share of creativity. While you want to have a meatball the way it has always been, you might want to add a flavor or have a different shape.
When exercising your creativity, you put a lot of thoughts and care into making your food. By so doing, your food will be sweet and you will feel better.
- Cooking for Friends Make you Happy
When you are cooking for friends or family, you feel happy. When you are barbecuing and chilling with your friends, you feel happy. You will look for the best way to enhance the flavor of the meat chunks to keep those you love happy.
When barbecuing, you will be occupied and this can be a great way to stay stress free. The laughter of those you love, and the compliments you get for the meal will make you happier than you were.
- Show off Your Cooking Skills
Once you have mastered the art of cooking, there is no reason not to show those skills to those you love. When someone is stressed, validation and the feeling of acceptance can help soothe their stress.
Everyone feels good about themselves when they get validated. Even if you are cooking for yourself, you will feel good knowing that the food you are about to eat will be sweet.
- Cooking as a Ritual
Cooking should be in your schedule just as answering calls and replying emails. If you play with different ingredients and make new meals every day, cooking will become a ritual – something that you have to do every day.
This kind of ritual will not only keep you occupied every day but will also keep you creative and give you a source of happiness. After an exhausting day at the office, doing something you love and something you have done every day can make you happy. In most cases, you might have to spend part of your hours in the office looking for the next recipe to explore.
- Spend More Time Studying Food
A writer spends a lot of time readings books – and writers find this exciting. Just as a writer will boast of the books they have read, a cook will spend more time watching cooking shows, reading recipe books and even visiting restaurants to learn more. Any added knowledge will make you happier – just as a writer feels after finishing a good book.
When you spend more time learning about food, you will have less time to think about your stress and this will make you happier.
Cook Your Way Out of Stress
Studies show that people who take their time to finish small but creative projects every day feel more relaxed and satisfied with themselves. These people are happier in life, and they yearn for another day of life. Cooking can be that project for you. When you cook a new meal, you undertake a project that you must see to the end.