If you see me making a pie at 7 a.m., don’t be shocked. Baking for a boost? It’s my secret way to relax and feel better. In the middle of my sadness, I found that baking could help. That pie in the early morning for a Thanksgiving party turned into a habit that always got me out of a bad mood.
Baking For a Boost: How Sweet Things Get Their Sweet Taste
Surprisingly, study shows that baking can help your mood. Let’s look at how this fun hobby can help you feel inspired, calm, confident, and just plain happy. I’ll also give you some tips on how to make baking the best it can be.
Baking For a Boost: Could baking be good for your mental health?
PERMA, the well-being model created by psychologist Martin Seligman, focuses on five things: Positive mood, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment. Because baking has these qualities, it is good for your mental health.
- Making people feel good emotions
Baking doesn’t just make you happy; it makes you hopeful, satisfied, inspired, and proud. Looking for a new recipe or picturing the end result can make you feel good even before you start.
- Giving your mind a break
Baking keeps your mind busy and puts you in a state of mental flow. This break from thinking about bad things fits with PERMA’s engagement part and can help relieve stress if planned carefully.
- Making social connections
Sharing your baked goods is a great way to meet new people. Making memories by baking with family, friends, or loved ones and then enjoying the results can be very special.
- Giving your life more meaning
It gives life value to cook with other people. Having a feeling of purpose comes from doing things like baking a dish for other people, taking your time, and enjoying the process.
- Feeling Like You’ve Done Something
Baking is hard enough to make you feel like you’ve accomplished something. Starting the day off on a good note by baking something, especially if you’re trying a new recipe.
Baking For a Boost: Setting up an environment for therapeutic baking
Some people might not enjoy baking, but here are some tips that will make it more fun for you:
- Allow Enough Time: To avoid chaos, give yourself plenty of time for your baking adventure.
- Set the Mood: To make the process more fun, play music, listen to a podcast, or light a candle.
- Plan ahead: Starting with a recipe makes the process less scary because you have a clear idea of what you need to do and a better chance of succeeding.
- Get the Ingredients Ahead of Time: Getting the ingredients ahead of time will make grocery shopping easy.
- Plan to Share: Giving away your baked goods can push you to finish the job and enjoy the reward.
- Write down what you’ve learned: Take a picture of your finished project so you can see how far you’ve come.
Spend money on your tools. Good tools aren’t necessary, but they can make baking more fun.
Baking is a sweet way to take care of yourself.
While baking isn’t a replacement for professional help for your mental health, it is a great way to feel better when you have some spare time. A piece of freshly baked goodness can be just the thing you need to make you feel better.