I was reading William Shawcross's biography of the Queen Mother, dressed in my witch outfit! And you know what? It was a really good mix; it was a therapeutic mix.
I only ever baked because it helped with my anxiety.
I've taken up sculpting. I thought it might help the nerves in my hands.
I spend a lot of time doing carpentry. Sometimes there is nothing that gives me the contentment that sawing a piece of wood does.
If there's friends around, I'll cook. Or if I have a girlfriend. But on my own I kind of fell out of the habit of it, and it's a shame really because I know it's good for me. It's something quite therapeutic.
For people who grew up hunting, especially war veterans, shooting often settled the mind. It was something that required full concentration, and therefore took you away from your troubles, at least for a short time.
Cooking, to me, it's kind of therapeutic. It's completely different from music as well. I'm not amazing at it, but I can cook myself a good meal. And I'm not just saying this, but anytime I'm on the bus or at home, I'm watching Food Network or cooking on TV just 'cause it's interesting to me.
There was a mental institution near my house, and I would donate time teaching mentally ill patients how to do ceramics. I photographed them as well. So those were my first pictures.
I quite like doing laundry. I find it quite like relaxing.
My ritual is cooking. I find it therapeutic. It comes naturally to me. I can read a recipe and won't have to look at it again.
Cooking and baking is both physical and mental therapy.
If I'm in a bad mood, my thing is I go clean! That's what relaxes me! I go and clean everything.
There are certain things that make me relax, like writing my journal. That's the only time that I'm relaxing. It's the only time I really get to examine myself.
I find vacuuming very therapeutic. I like the lines it makes on the carpet.
Now that I know how to handle a bow and arrow, I find it very therapeutic. It is a brilliant way to ease your mind, so I am going to keep it up in my free time. It is a very fun skill to have.
Cooking puts me at ease; it gives me control over what's happening, and I know that the finished product is gonna be good, so I'm gonna be satisfied. That's kind of how I keep myself grounded.
A lot of people say it's cathartic to cook, and I'm like, 'How is it cathartic washing all these dishes?'
I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It's amazing how it cheers one up to shred orange and scrub the floor.
Jeff Bodine was saying that when he gets depressed, that he cleans house.
When I get very stressed, I make jam. I like things that produce a quick result, because fashion has such a long lead time. With jam, you start, and two-three hours later, you have 36 little pots, all full.
Going to grocery stores is almost my favorite thing to do to calm myself down. There's something about just walking aisle after aisle making mundane choices. 'Do I want that? No, I want the one that has the low sodium.' And that feels like a good exercise to be doing when there isn't anything to be doing. It's like a kick-starter in some way.
When I cannot write a poem, I bake biscuits and feel just as pleased.
I'm pretty terrible at writing, so the way I kind of therapeutically get through things is by drawing.
For me, creating music is just as relaxing as sitting down and doing nothing.
It's only knitting and it's one of the few times in your life when there are no bad consequences to a mistake.
