Exhausted 38-year-old woman moves to retirement home to slow down her pace of life

A 38-year-old woman in China lives in a nursing home for the elderly after becoming ill due to overwork and looking for a way to slow down her life.

Ms. Yang had been working as a screenwriter in the film and television industry for 11 years when the hectic schedule and extreme workload began to affect her health. Earlier this year, she became ill and had to be hospitalized. Doctors told her she needed to take it easy or she would face even worse health problems, so the 38-year-old woman decided to find a way to slow down in life. Both of her parents had died and she had no other close relatives, so she began looking for a place where she could relax and recuperate. While searching for answers online, she read about a nursing home and how quiet and leisurely life was there, so she decided to try it out for herself.

“There are two reasons why I chose a nursing home rather than a hotel,” Ms. Yang told 6Park News. “First, I was very curious about the nursing home and wanted to see what it was like and whether it was really as boring as everyone said. Second, because I was sick, I hoped to have a place where I could rest, receive basic medical care and eat healthy food.”

“In my previous job, I often worked late and often couldn’t sleep well,” added the 38-year-old woman. “Last year, I was in hospital for a month because of overwork. After that, I wanted to live a good life, slow down and find a place where I could recover. My work and rest breaks are now very regular. I go to bed around 9 o’clock in the evening, but get up very early in the morning. I read books every day, write novels and memoirs for the elderly. I don’t feel lonely or bored in the nursing home.”

After spending the past three months in a nursing home surrounded by people as old as 102, Ms Yang says she has gained a new perspective on life. She has adjusted to the slow pace of her temporary home and enjoys spending her days reading, writing and chatting with the other residents. She has also learned not to think too much about the future and to just take things one day at a time.

When asked if she plans to stay in the retirement home for the rest of her life, the 38-year-old woman said she plans to leave at some point, but she doesn’t know exactly when that will be. For now, she’s still enjoying the peace and quiet of the Yisenlin Retirement Home in Jilin city. She’s also helping one of the elderly residents there write her memoirs, which may take quite a while, so she has no plans to leave anytime soon.

Ms. Yang’s experience of living in a nursing home went viral after she started posting clips of her life there on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), which attracted far more attention than she ever imagined. She never thought anyone would find her story interesting, but since she started posting videos, she has been inundated with questions from people even younger than her.

While many said Yang’s experience inspired them, there were also some who called her story a cautionary tale about China’s overwork culture and how it can drive people to burnout at a relatively young age.