This year has been tough … bake some brownies!
Baking is by far my favorite activity for stress and anxiety relief. In addition to the satisfaction of creating something, I find the process of baking itself to have a calming, almost soothing effect. You also feel a sense of pride, accomplishment and confidence when baking a dish from start to finish.
Philip Muskin, a Columbia University psychiatry professor and the secretary of the American Psychiatry Association says “Baking is mindful. Mindfulness means paying attention to yourself in the moment and not being in the past or the future, but really being there”. Muskin says it can have an emotional impact akin to practices that are intended to more directly affect mood, such as meditation or breathing exercises.
Baking forces you to stop scrolling through bad news, get your hands dirty and pay close attention to what you’re doing. Baking involves exact measurements, timing and a specific sequence of steps which creates a more absorbing task. You become attentive and present in the moment. When we bake, the worry gets put on the back burner because we must focus on the task at hand.
But your freezer can only hold so many cupcakes – a problem you may run into during this time of self-isolation and social distancing is finding a way to share your bounty of baked treats. Why not go for a walk and drop off packages of baked goods for your neighbors with a little note of well wishes, or through your local buy nothing facebook page to connect with your local community?
Purchase some baking mix here and don’t forget to follow us on facebook and instagram!
