Flour, sugar, butter, chocolate. A treat of our childhoods became so much more than a cookie.

I had become part of a statistic, one according to Raising Children Network, is carrying 1 to 9 precent of all children and teens - social anxiety. Beyond not liking to speak to strangers or feeling awkward around new people, a chain and ball had developed which weighed down my confidence in all aspects of life.

While social activities started to seem like chores, my social anxiety and I lunged into baking. With the idea of nothing but a recipe and ingredients involved, my feeling of self assertiveness soared in the kitchen.

My social anxiety liked to include itself in many things, however did not have an appetite of it’s own. With an excess of cookies, I had to face the reality that I could not let my baking partner hold me back from the world.

Slowly beginning to release the hold that fear had on me, I introduced healthy communication with people I cared for; doing this by sharing something I cared for.

While not everyone enjoys baking or social interaction, both are worth a try, and could change your view on life. Remember to start small and be able to change your recipe to be as wonderful as you are, and the rest will be done in time, just like your cookies.