Comfort Food For The Soul: Thanksgiving And Mental Health
No matter what kinds of differences we have, some things are universally human. One of those is the feeling you get when you walk into the house and inhale the aroma of your favorite meal cooking in the kitchen.
As we enter the final hours before the Superbowl of eating—otherwise known as Thanksgiving—it’s the perfect time to explore why cooking, comfort food, and mental health are more connected than we might think.
The Science Behind the Comfort
There’s something uniquely powerful about how certain smells can take us back to another time or place. The sweet smell of warm cobbler fresh out of the oven might be reminiscent of childhood, waiting (not so patiently) for your grandma to tell you the dish had cooled off enough for you to have a bite.
The first taste of a perfect curry dish can bring you right back to that vacation where the food was as good as the vibes. And the unmistakable aroma of the Creole “holy trinity”—onions, bell peppers, and celery—sautéing in a roux might remind you of your mother creating one of her classic masterpieces for Sunday dinner.
This kind of sensory time travel isn’t just nostalgia, it’s neuroscience. When you detect a scent, that information travels directly to your amygdala, the part of the brain that helps regulate emotions, and to your hippocampus, which plays a major role in storing memories. It’s the same biological mechanism that makes aromatherapy effective and explains why funnel cake can instantly make an adult feel like a kid leaving the carnival or amusement park after a long day of fun.
During the holiday season, when kitchens are busy and family recipes take center stage, these emotional and sensory associations become even stronger. It’s not simply about food; it’s about memory, comfort, and connection.
How Cooking Supports Mental Health
If you’re someone who enjoys cooking, preparing a meal can be a form of stress relief. There’s something soothing about following a recipe or settling into the calming rhythm of chopping, seasoning, stirring, and tasting. In the right environment, cooking can shift from a mundane task to a therapeutic ritual.
First, set the scene with a clean, well-equipped kitchen and all of your fresh ingredients handy. Pull out the tools you need so you’re not searching for a whisk at the worst possible moment. Next, pour a glass of your favorite beverage to sip on and queue up the playlist that best matches your current mood (or the mood you would like to be in). Decide whether this will be a solo venture or a group project that enlists your partner or family members as sous chefs. Either way, be sure to allow enough time to prepare the meal leisurely.
Mindfulness—purposefully bringing your attention to the present moment—is one of the most effective strategies for calming the nervous system. Cooking provides the perfect structure for this. By paying attention to all five of your senses while cooking, you can easily incorporate mindfulness.
Observe the color of fried chicken as the flour coating turns from white to golden brown (sight). Listen to the sizzle of the oil as you gently drop each piece into the pan (hearing). Inhale the savory aroma that permeates the air as the meat cooks (smell). Feel the subtle crunch in your mouth with every perfectly cooked bite you take (touch). Try to detect each of the different seasonings used as you experience the finished product (taste).
Even repetitive tasks can feel surprisingly therapeutic when you allow yourself to slow down. Stirring the sauce. Washing the veggies. Chopping the onions. These small actions can help quiet anxious thoughts and bring a sense of order to the mind.
And then there’s the sense of agency. In a world where so many things feel outside our control, cooking allows us to make decisions, express creativity, adjust flavor, and shape an experience from start to finish. The simplest sense of empowerment, even in small doses, can contribute positively to our overall emotional well-being.
Food and Emotional Connection
Cooking is one of the most universal ways humans connect. Preparing food for someone is a gesture of care, an act of love. This is why so many cultural traditions center around food: family reunions where multiple generations contribute a dish, church potlucks, Sunday dinners, cookouts where the role of grill master must be earned through experience and trust (leather sandals optional). Food gathers people. It creates memories. It reinforces connection.
Preparing a meal with your family or loved ones can be a bonding experience. The act of participating in an activity with others can foster a sense of working together as a team to produce a mutually enjoyable outcome. It can be a time to pass down cherished recipes that have been in the family for generations, playfully sharing stories about who prepared them best. Even if your holiday doesn’t look traditional or your family structure has shifted, preparing and sharing food can still offer a sense of community and healing.
From a more personal perspective, cooking can even boost confidence and self-esteem. Perfecting a particularly challenging recipe provides an opportunity to prove that you are able to master something you previously may have doubted your ability to do. And being put in charge of the macaroni and cheese? Well, that is the ultimate stamp of approval.
Bringing It All Together
As we move through the holiday season, pay attention to your emotional responses to food and cooking. Notice which scents trigger memories, which dishes make you smile, and which parts of cooking help you get into the zone and feel calmer. Whether you’re preparing a cherished family recipe, experimenting with something new (but hopefully not on Thanksgiving!), allow the experience to be more than just another item on your holiday checklist.
Cooking can nourish more than your body. It can provide grounding, spark creativity, foster connection, and offer a reminder of the simple joys we all like to experience. These days, in a world that can feel chaotic and unpredictable, those moments of comfort matter more than ever.
Eboni Williams, a licensed psychotherapist and life coach based in Los Angeles, is committed to breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health, particularly for individuals of color. As an alumnus of Howard University, she is passionate about all things culture, traveling the world, and spending quality time with her loved ones.
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