Cooking as a coping mechanism

[DDNatureLover]

I love to cook and bake, and have often used them as ways to manage my stress. I absolutely despise the kitchen I have in this house, and so cooking here is not nearly as relaxing as it has been in other places I've lived. However, one thing that I've found helps me, and I've found a way to work around the lack of counter space and other limitations, is to make pizza. I occasionally will cook a frozen pizza, or even rarer, pick one up or have one delivers, but there's a certain sense of satisfaction in making my own. I've made them in the past using boboli crusts or the rolled up pizza crusts, and those are nice, but there's something therapeutic about making the crust from scratch and kneading the dough.


Bread dough needs to be kneaded quite a bit, and that is too much for my hands and wrists, but pizza dough doesn't need much kneading, and is just right for my purposes. Pizza dough makes up quickly, and so it's not a laborious process that tries my patience. I am able to make a homemade pizza from start to finish, in about an hour, and then I can relax and enjoy the fruits of my labor. I tried a new recipe for the crust last night and was very pleased with the results. I know everyone has their own preference about whether they want thin crust, thick crust, etc. My preference is usually thin crispy crust or hand tossed. This one I made didn't require tossing. I've never hand tossed a crust, although if I ever have a large enough kitchen, I think I'd enjoy trying that. Here's the recipe I used, in case anyone would like to try making it. Best of all, it doesn't require yeast, which not everyone has on hand these days. 


Do you like to bake or cook to relieve your anxiety? If so, what's your favorite thing to make? Share your recipe if you'd like, I collect them and am always on the hunt for new things to try making. 

 

[kgord]

I love cooking and baking and find it peaceful as well. The problem is many of the things I like to make are high calorie and are problematic in that way. I need to find some delicious low calorie alternatives, and I know there are some. Weight Watchers recipes are good for that. They will give you the satisfaction without the calories. This is just one of the ways to get therapy you need and the food you enjoy.

 

[Alex]

Baking is one of the things I do to relax, and there are days I like to cook and bake all day as I feel as if I have accomplished something. It reminds me of my childhood when I used to bake, and now I don't do it so often, but I make sure I have ingredients handy if the urge strikes me.


I tend to bake pies, brownies, and pasta bakes which are easy and I experiment with fillings and sauces. I also collect recipes and keep them with good intentions of using them.

 

[joshposh]

I do know of another person that uses to relieve their stress.  It's pretty interesting as he also watches soap operas while cooking to top it all off.  I don't cook as much as I should, but I do find that cooking in general and the satisfaction of making a good meal does give me a sense of accomplishment.

 

[fuzyon]

I like to cook even though I suck at it, a lot of times I messed up the process or forget some core ingredients which can be infuriating. It's a really fun hobby though, I love combining ingredients and making sure everything is in order, it gives me a sense of peace for some reason. I like to be frugal so I love to challenge myself to cook healthy things that will last for a long time (rice with vegetables is a good example of that).

 

[misszerable]

I do cook sometimes to distract myself , delay something, or keep my mind off a stressful situation but I don't cook anything complicated. I have a good stock of pop corn that I'd pop on the microwave. Some other days, I would prepare tacos with meat and vegetable fillings. And on some rare days, I would prepare leche flan. I suppose it's therapeutic because by giving in to my cravings, I feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

 

[SirJoe]

I don't cook that much now but I used to, it was a lot of fun and it really helped me relax. The more elaborate the meal the better. I think that is why there are so many people that have become interested in cooking lately. Normally who ever tries it once wants to do it again.

 

[amy88]

I love baking, cooking, anything that is food related. For me it's a relaxing thing and I guess a way of expressing myself too.


I have an Italian background, so pasta and pizza are favorites. If we're talking about baking, I love cupcakes, pies, cobblers and breads - all of those things to me are fun, and things that I can share with others - it's one way I try and tackle my social anxiety, by gifting baked goods to others. It's a good ice breaker.

 

[sidney]

I would love to learn how to bake or cook in general, but so far all I know is frying simple things. Right now I'm learning how to cook pancake since we have been given a large box, but I don't have milk, only eggs, so I still won't be able to cook it. 

 

[sorrowscall]

If you have potatoes, then milk becomes unnecessary. There are several recipes for something called potato pancakes. Their much like a normal pancake but with a potato flavor. I make mine in a German style and pour gravy on it instead of syrup. The process is actually quite relaxing.

 

[DDNatureLover]

I had been sitting here at the computer for way too long earlier and needed a break, so I went and made a batch of pasta (just cooked it, I didn't actually make it from scratch) with tomato sauce and butter. I'll have the rest for dinner tonight. I like to keep things like that on hand for those times when I want something fairly quickly. One of these days, I plan to make pasta from scratch. I  have some of the tools I need, but I want to buy a pasta machine eventually. I would watch my parents making pasta when I was younger, and am looking forward to trying to make it myself one of these days. 

 

[mauricioq]

Definitely! Because when I'm cooking that's the only thing I'm thinking about, all I wanna do is a perfect meal so I stay pretty focused on that and forget a lot of my problems. It's a great way to relax myself and I do it pretty often.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

It's amazing to hear that you've found something that helps you out to cope with your anxiety, and it's better to know that it's something productive as cooking is. When it comes to me, either I'm terrible at cooking or I haven't tried it that much yet... I think that I feel better doing something else like drawing or writing, that's more my type of thing to do, I guess.