Is cooking therapeutic for you, and if so, how?!
Answers: I am researching this question for a project and would love some feedback about the therapeutic qualities of cooking, when it was therapeutic (what was going on for you at the time that cooking helped you deal with the situation), what you felt before, during and after, etc. And also some other positive ways you have coped with difficulty that would be deemed creative. Thanks a lot for your feedback!
I think cooking, especially baking, is very therapeutic. Same with washing dishes. It's a way of doing something that you can control or predict when things around you are hectic and chaotic.
Baking/cooking is some what formula driven. Follow the recipes and you should get good results - minimum thinking required. Great for unwinding, destressing and diverting my mind from heavier issues, finding a quiet place from yelling screaming kids (er... I mean little angels) or even when I'm my exploration mood.
Sharing the end results with family and friends, plus receiving complements is an ego boost. lol.
Also, it's a kick when you try something new and it works out.
There is a lot to be said about knife work. Some people use knife work as a way to vent aggression or frustration which I can see, but I also see knife work as a painter sees a brush. It helps translate the raw material into a final product.
As with each stroke of a brush, each slice and cut transforms a few vegetable into a ratatouille (as in the movie's final dish - which is more accurately described as a byaldi)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confit_byal...
The effort going into the food and when you can show it is what is often touted as the cook putting "love" and "soul" into the food.
it doesn't matter what you do whether it is cooking, gardening or reading.....you are doing something other than thinking about negative things.
I would say it is very therapeutic for me! Whenever I've had a bad day at class, or work it always makes me feel better to create something beautiful [I've been cooking my whole life, and I've always aspired to be a chef] It also is so wonderful when others try what you've made and enjoy it. It really helps build my self esteem when I'm down in the dumps.
picking up a large knife and slamming it home through a piece of steak gets rid of anger, crying from cutting up an onion relieves stress, throwing a potatoe and hitting someone makes one feel much better, slicing up capsicums makes one remininsce, nobody knows what a turnip does and lemons are good in cocktails which make people feel much better.
I find cooking therapeutic because all of frustrations go into making the meal. From beginning to end. At the end, when all the dishes are done there is a calming sort of peaceful quality to life again.
The other ways I expel negative energy is writing.
Cooking is very therapeutic for me and I didn't even realize it ..... very stressed out with dealing with teen issues, death, care-taker for elderly relative, etc. Its my time alone, I get to create, I feel good because ppl absolute love what I make, they feel very special when you cook something especially for them .... they are happy and you are happy and satisfied, its a challenge to make things you had no idea how to cook. Its very rewarding.
I specially make things that no one makes anymore, that everyone misses .... dishes that their moms, grandmother, aunts used to make.... like comfort foods.
I love hearing that my cheese cakes are better than the Cheesecake Factory, or having my son tell me my ribs are better than this place or that place, etc.
I love cooking in the first place, so it's always therapeutic for me, at least at home. When I'm in a good mood, I put my heart and soul into whatever I'm making because it makes me and my husband happy and content. Trying new recipes or new techniques is therapeutic too because I'm learning something and have a challenge to conquer. When I'm upset, I just cook to make myself feel good. There's also a flip side...cooking can be VERY sexual. If you think about the terms used in cooking, learning how to stuff sausages, it doesn't matter what I say on the weekends, my hubby can spin it into sexual innuendo and, well, you get the picture. Now THAT'S therapeutic! :)