Therapy and cooking are two things that can help you heal after giving birth.

The time after giving birth is a time of great change, full of joy, exhaustion, discovery, and strong feelings. People often forget about the mother's mental and emotional health when they focus on medical checkups and baby care.

We don't think about it enough, but postpartum depression (PPD), anxiety, changes in identity, and burnout are all common. And cooking is another nurturing tool that can help on this journey, even though professional therapy is necessary in many cases.

This blog is about how therapy and cooking can work together in a beautiful and healing way during the postpartum period. We'll talk about how cooking can help with mental health, lower anxiety, encourage mindfulness, and help new moms reconnect with who they are as they change.

The Emotional Landscape of Postpartum

Let's start with something that isn't often said out loud: postpartum can make you feel alone.

After giving birth, the levels of oestrogen and progesterone drop sharply, while the levels of prolactin and cortisol rise. These changes, along with sleepless nights, physical recovery, and the demands of a new baby, can make new moms feel:

Not feeling like themselves

Stuck in a loop of feeding, cleaning, and taking care of

Nervous or emotionally blank

Too much stimulation and not enough food

Guilty for not being happy all the time

Therapy gives you a professional space to talk, but what about the times at home when you can't talk? When your mind is racing, your tears are unpredictable, and the world is too loud or too quiet?

Surprisingly, cooking comes into play here.

Cooking as a Form of Therapy: Not Just a Chore

People often think of cooking as something that needs to be done, but it can be so much more. There is even a type of therapy called Culinary Art Therapy that combines traditional therapy with mindful cooking. This method doesn't replace clinical treatment, but it does help with real emotional issues:

Regains a sense of control: Recipes are structured and predictable. That structure can help you stay grounded in a world that is otherwise chaotic after giving birth.

Touching, smelling, tasting, and hearing are all ways to bring you into the present.

Encourages creativity and self-expression: Even something as simple as adding a garnish to dal or making a new smoothie mix can be a way to be creative.

Cooking is a way to show yourself love, not just a way to feed your family.

What therapy can do for you and how cooking is like it

Let's look at how therapy works and how cooking works:

How Cooking Shows the Therapeutic Principle

Making a routine and a planFollowing recipes and planning meals helps to ground the day.Chopping, stirring, and tasting all bring the mind to the present.

Rebuilding who you areMaking your own food choices is a way to get back your freedom.

Connection between mind and bodyCooking connects action and awareness through doing things with your body.

A safe place to deal with feelingsTime spent in the kitchen gives you peace and flow.

In short, cooking doesn't just fill your stomach; it can also help calm your nervous system, which is often out of whack in new mothers.

Real-Life Times When Cooking Heals -The Morning Chai Ritual

Boiling tea is not the same as making chai. It's grinding ginger, measuring spices, and waiting for the simmer. For a lot of Indian moms, this is their first break of the day. It's a quiet, almost meditative time before the baby wakes up or while they sleep.

Kneading Dough (and Relaxing the Mind)

Kneading atta in a rhythmic way can be strangely calming. Studies show that doing the same thing over and over again can lower cortisol levels and put you in a "flow state," which is a mental state where time seems to stop and your mind slows down.

Making Favourite Childhood Foods

Making khichdi, sabudana kheer, or besan halwa, which your mother used to make, can bring back strong memories. It helps new moms feel like their identity is still there, reminding them that they are not lost in motherhood but growing within it.

How to combine cooking and mental health after having a baby

1. Make food for yourself first

Every day, make one thing just for you, like a bowl of fruit or a glass of warm turmeric milk. It reminds me, "I exist outside of this baby." I also need food.

2. Take a break from your busy mind by cooking

Instead of thinking of cooking as a chore, use it as a way to control your feelings. Listening to soft music, taking deep breaths while chopping, and being fully present can help ground the mind.

3. Don't make things too hard.

Therapeutic cooking doesn't mean making fancy food. Even making a pot of dal, a fruit salad, or a lot of methi theplas can be a powerful thing to do.

4. Work together (or not) when cooking

Some moms feel connected when they cook with a friend or partner. For some people, being alone in the kitchen is better for their health. Get into your groove.

5. Keep a "Kitchen Journal"

Write down what you made, how it made you feel, and if any memories came to mind. You will start to see patterns in what makes you feel better and what makes you feel worse.

New Moms Talk: Cooking as a Way to Deal

"When I made lauki sabzi the way my grandmother used to, I cried while I was cooking. But somehow, it made me feel safe.

— Ritika, a new mum in Delhi

"I couldn't control how my baby slept, but I could control how well I browned the onions." That was important to me.

— Aanya, the mother of twins

At first, I was afraid of therapy. But my therapist said I should try cooking when I'm feeling anxious. Now that I bake banana bread, I feel better right away.

— Megha, mother of a 6-month-old

🔄 When cooking and therapy go hand in hand

You don't have to choose one over the other.

Therapy gives you a safe and structured place to work through deep feelings. Cooking is a way to heal that people do every day. When done together, they give:

Words and actions can help you let go of your feelings.

Being aware of yourself and taking care of yourself

Mental clarity and physical nourishment

Therapists are now telling people with anxiety, depression, or trauma to do grounding activities like cooking as homework.

When Cooking Might Not Be Helpful

It's important to remember that for some new moms, cooking may not be healing but rather overwhelming, especially if:

They don't have anyone to help them.

They don't have a healthy relationship with food.

You can't move when you're tired or depressed.

In these situations, therapy needs to be the main focus, and that's fine. There is no one way to heal.

Last Thoughts:

Therapy teaches us how to talk to ourselves. Cooking teaches us how to take care of ourselves.

When a new mum picks up a ladle, stirs a pot of food that is simmering, and serves it with love, she is doing more than just cooking. She is making things safe. She's taking back her routine. She is saying, "I matter too," in a quiet way.

Therapy can help you find your way through the postpartum maze. Cooking helps you stay on the right path.