晨读英语美文 Medicine for a Broken Heart

Medicine for a Broken Heart

[00:06.99]Within my group of friends, 

[00:09.51]when one of us is struggling with a recent breakup 

[00:12.47]after a long-term relationship, 

[00:14.32]the castaway will be sad and depressed. 

[00:16.88]The response to sadness takes one of two courses  

[00:20.72]either appetite fails totally, 

[00:22.79]or we eat excessively to quell our yearnings over lost loves.

[00:26.40]If one of the girls in my dorm 

[00:28.81]wants to indulge her appetite for food after a breakup, 

[00:31.98]we all join in. 

[00:33.18]We all eat terrible food in terrible quantities. 

[00:35.81]For instance, ice cream, cakes, cookies and potato chips 

[00:39.96]all become comfort foods that we consume in excess. 

[00:43.36]I think this happens for a variety of reasons. 

[00:46.31]To begin with, at my age— nineteen  

[00:49.26]we are all very concerned with our physical appearance. 

[00:52.54]We want to be attractive, 

[00:54.58]to have the kind of body image our society values. 

[00:57.69]To that end, we moderate what kinds of foods we eat, 

[01:01.15]how much, and how often; 

[01:02.61]and we often overexert ourselves at the gym 

[01:06.22]trying to burn off extra calories. 

[01:07.75]We maintain good habits to keep up good appearance 

[01:11.68]and thereby maintain a good relationship. 

[01:14.30]However, when anyone experiences something as stressful 

[01:17.77]and emotionally draining as a broken heart, 

[01:20.54]he or she tends to disregard healthy habits 

[01:23.27]and takes some pleasure in consuming 

[01:26.32]those formerly forbidden foods. 

[01:27.86]Of course, it is all a vicious circle. 

[01:30.82]We lose our boyfriends, 

[01:32.46]we become depressed, 

[01:33.55]we eat, we gain weight (which, in turn, depresses us), 

[01:36.94]we struggle to regain our self-respect, 

[01:39.79]we enter into another relationship,

[01:42.69] and the cycle goes on.

[01:43.18]Food is not the only recourse for a sad lover. 

[01:46.90]One friend of mine soothes her broken heart

[01:50.29] by going shopping，buying new clothes and new shoes, 

[01:54.26]maybe a piece of jewelry  

[01:54.77]to make herself feel better. 

[01:56.41]Whether it's food or shopping, 

[01:58.49]self-indulgence is often good medicine for the blues, 

[02:02.21]if it is not carried to excess. 

[02:04.29]The worst response is turning to alcohol or drugs.