[2021-01-12] Baking as therapy
I am lucky that I am naturally a homebody.
Since the start of my chemotherapy on October 1, I have spent almost all my time at home, save for walks in my neighbourhood, blood tests, doctors' appointments and chemotherapy treatments. This is partly because of the heightened risk from COVID, but mostly because of my immunocompromised status.
Even after my last chemotherapy treatment—which will be in two days as long as my neutrophils are high enough—it will take my body at least a month to bounce back from the assault on my immune system, just in time for the start of new medication, which may also affect my immune system.
So I would be staying at home even without a stay-at-home order.
At times like this, it helps me to remember what British poet Edith Sitwell wrote:
Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.
In my book, good food and home are synonymous with baking.
It turns out that baking may also be good for mental health.
A friend drew my attention to Baking for therapy and self-empowerment, which states:
Baking is...hugely advantageous for improving mental health, with benefits that include increased mindfulness, satisfaction and sensory pleasure.
It adds that baking is a focused activity that engages the mind and the body and serves as a form of therapy.
In Baking Is The Best Way To Alleviate Stress—Yes, Really, author Sarah Weinberg quotes clinical psychologist Dr. Mary McNaughton-Cassill:
"There is a rhythm or pattern to baking.... It feels familiar and can even lead to a mindful state."
McNaughton-Cassill says that baking allows us to be creative, and it triggers our senses. For example,
"The smell of spices and vanilla are comforting, and [they] often remind us of happy times. Olfactory scents are particularly linked to areas of the brain that involve emotions and memory."
To this day, the smell of bread reminds me of the baking I used to do with my mom when I was a girl. We used to make miniature versions of buns, date squares and cakes in kid-sized versions of baking pans.
Weinberg points to another benefit of baking: the tangible results:
So you embed yourself so deeply in the measuring, and the pouring, and the mixing, and the rolling, and the shaping, and whatever else your recipe asks you to do. And by the end, you've got a little less stress and a dozen more cupcakes.
McNaughton-Cassill explains why tangible results are so important to our mental health:
"One of the stressors of modern life is that, for many of us, our jobs don't have a tangible outcome. We work all day—in customer service, healthcare, education, accounting, insurance—and feel tired when we get home, but we don't have a discernible way to measure what we have accomplished."
She adds that the resurgence of baking—as well as crafts, home improvement and cooking—reflects our desire to experience a sense of accomplishment.
Writer Kamri Sylve affirms in Psychologists say baking reduces stress and anxiety that spending time in the kitchen can help relieve stress and improve mental health. Baking can be a distraction from stress and anxiety, and because it requires attention, it keeps us focused and engaged on the present. Sylve writes:
Many things are out of our control right now, but measuring ingredients and following recipes give us a sense of routine, which can be calming.
In addition to its meditative, creative and sensory-stimulating qualities, baking is nourishing. 5 Reasons Baking is Good for Mental Health states that nourishing activities feel good:
Baking—and any sort of cooking or food preparation—is ultimately about nourishing ourselves and others. To internalize this benefit, make an effort to bring your whole awareness to the healthy ingredients and love that go into your baked goodies.
The article adds that when we share our baked goods, we make others feel happy, which in turns put a smile on our face. Baking is love made visible.
Baking was the first activity I returned to when recovering from surgery, the first step in my cancer journey. It was something I could do with my daughter, first sitting and eventually standing. I derived a sense of accomplishment and normalcy from the activity. It was also satisfying to know that I was putting my love into something my family would enjoy.
For me, baking equals home, happy memories and love—all things we can use in abundance right now.
