There’s something magical about baking

For as long as I can remember, the kitchen has been my safe place. From making cupcakes age 4, to making my own birthday cakes in my mid-20s and everything in between, baking is my therapy. 

 When the world feels too loud, too fast, too scary or just too much, I find myself reaching for a mixing bowl and a bag of flour, sugar, butter and eggs. It forces me to slow down, focus, and breathe. There’s something grounding about knowing that if I just follow the steps, something good will come out of it.  

Something about having to follow a recipe, something black and white, something that has to be exactly right, there’s comfort in the routine and structure of it. The recipe tells me what to do one small, manageable step at a time. Unlike the loudness and overwhelm in my head, baking has a clear beginning, middle, and end. It’s like nothing else matters in that moment, just me and the ingredients. 

One of the hardest parts of anxiety is feeling like everything, your thoughts, your body, your day, is out of your control. Baking gives me a small, safe way to feel in charge again. 
I decide what to make.  
I follow each step at my own pace.  
I know what the outcome is going to be.  

Baking reminds me I can make something good happen. 
I can turn a pile of ingredients into something warm and nourishing. 
I can do it.  
That little feeling of accomplishment, pulling a cake out of the oven, seeing the bread rise, someone else enjoying something I made, helps quiet the self-doubt that anxiety can bring. 

Baking has become more than just a hobby for me. It’s a way to look after myself. 

Baking doesn’t fix everything.  

It doesn’t make my anxiety disappear or solve all my problems, but it does remind me that I can create something good, even on my worst days. 

Kayleigh Bilby, Hub Administrator

~ a note of thanks from the CoLab Hub, who greatly appreciate the end results!