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Ever tried to mend a broken heart with ice cream? Maybe you should have tried what this woman did instead. After 26-year-old Tan Shen's boyfriend dumped her, she camped out at her local KFC ... for a week. It was wings, wings, wings, wings, and more wings. And you know what? It was exactly the right thing for her to do.
Shen had no idea, when she stopped by on her way home from work in Chengdu, China, that she would stay so long. "I was walking around feeling miserable," she later said, "and decided to stop by the KFC at the train station." Once there, Shen surrendered to the comfort, eventually calling in sick to work the following day.
"I hadn't planned on staying there long. I just wanted some chicken wings," Shen says. "But once I got in there and started eating, I decided I needed time to think."
Chicken can do that to you. It's rich in tryptophan, which helps raise serotonin levels. It's exactly what you should eat when you're feeling broken-hearted. Ice cream you just spoon into your mouth mindlessly. But chicken? It slows you down -- especially if you have to work your way around wing bones. It's food for soul searching.
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Lucky for Shen, her KFC happened to be a 24-hour joint. The employees caught on eventually and became a bit concerned. After three days, they asked Shen if she was all right. Shen assured them she was and said she just needed time to think. Then she ordered another box of wings and large fries.
She wasn't causing any harm, so they let her stay. "She was a paying customer," one employee says, "even if a bit of an odd one."
Eventually Shen's think-and-wing-athon brought her to the conclusion that she should move home with her parents. "And I was getting sick of the taste of chicken so there was no point in staying there anymore."
The healing powers of fried chicken! It's something to behold, isn't it? I love that Shen did this -- I wish I'd done the same the last time my heart was broken.
I like to imagine Shen gnawing on those wings and softly singing to herself the Beatles song, "Blackbird."
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these chicken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
It's going to be okay, Shen. It really is. You've been set free. You have everything you need. Now fly, girl. FLY!
What's your go-to comfort food for when you're depressed?
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