Maintaining Your Life While Caring for Others: Real Strategies That Work

By Ray Pang, Founder of the Global Freedom Initiative“Freedom comes for all of us, or none of us.”I didn’t understand the full weight of this Truth until I found myself — in 2023 — sitting alone in my parents’ apartment back in Singapore.No income.No clarity.And a whisper inside me I could no longer ignore:“You built everything… except yourself.”Just a few months prior, I had walked away from a multimillion-dollar company I co-founded. From the outside, I had “made it”: 7-figure revenue, a growing team, high-impact clientele.

“Being cut off from our own natural self-compassion is one of the greatest impairments we can suffer.” ~Gabor Mate

If it keeps you busy but will hold you back someday, it’s a distraction. Don’t settle.There’s a big difference between empty fatigue and gratifying exhaustion.

Q: “I know that I’m autistic, but I require a diagnosis for the support I need. How do I communicate to my clinician in a respectful way that I’m smart and read many of the same materials they do? Trying to get a proper diagnosis has been exhausting.”First, I would encourage you not to be defensive during your visit.

Q: My partner and I have ADHD and rejection sensitive dysphoria. We feed off each other’s negativity. He reacts defensively or spitefully.

Use one or a couple of them for one of the three things mentioned above or for social media posts, group chats or texts to make this celebration of love a fun and lighthearted one.“The best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly who you are: good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you. The right person is still going to think the sun shines out of your ass.

© Crown copyright 2025 This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected]. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

I hope you’ll find the perfect quote here – or maybe a combination of a few of them – to help make that birthday celebration an extra meaningful and memorable one.“Today is the oldest you have been, and the youngest you will ever be. Make the most of it!” – Nicky Gumbel“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” – Dr.

Let’s cut to the chase today. What you ultimately do comes out of who you believe you are. You have to practice believing in yourself and ignoring the naysayers. Because while you may not be able to control the impolite and unfair things some people say and do, you can press forward and decide not to be endlessly derailed by them.Of course I know that’s much easier said than done in life, especially during transitional periods of growth and change, but you must remind yourself that it can be done!How?Start by leveraging the right daily affirmations more often.

“I was thinking one day and I realized that if I just had somebody behind me all the way to motivate me I could make a big difference. Nobody came along like that so I just became that person for myself.”UnknownStaying motivated until you reach your goals and dreams isn’t always easy.There are often roadblocks, plateaus and valleys along the way where you can get into a slump.

“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.” ~Lao Tzu

Personal development is a never-ending journey since we all grow, change, and develop throughout our lives. However, it is also a fundamental psychological concept that encompasses self-improvement, self-awareness, and personal growth.

Key Takeaways:

Traveling through Europe can be an exciting and enriching experience. Over the course of your trip, you’ll visit iconic landmarks, explore quaint villages, and soak in the local culture. However, to make the most of your vacation, you need to pack with care. After all, the right items can ensure comfort, convenience, and peace of mind throughout your journey. 

Mental clarity has been linked to sleep, hydration, and reducing screen time for decades. For instance, an NCBI study states that proper sleep maintains serotonin and dopamine, which help with mood regulation and mental clarity. Therefore, sleep, especially the rapid eye movement phase, is important for consolidating memories.

And if you’re the one getting married then I wish you the very best and would like to add that plenty of these timeless sayings could work well for your wedding vows too.“A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short.” – André Maurois“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” – Lao Tzu“Being married is like having somebody permanently in your corner. It feels limitless, not limited.” – Gloria Steinem“Happy is the man who finds a true friend, and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife.” – Franz Schubert“The secret is that you just take care of each other and admire each other and support each other and you get that back.” – Ina Garten“The highest happiness on earth is marriage.” – William Lyon Phelps“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” – Mignon McLaughlin“Love recognizes no barriers.

Choosing the right treatment setting is a key step in recovery from mental health or substance use issues. Getting the correct care can make a big difference in long-term success. Many options exist, and understanding the differences helps you or your loved ones make smarter choices. According to recent studies, about 80% of people with mental health issues seek outpatient care first, but severe cases often need inpatient support. Explore the benefits of Intensive Outpatient vs. Inpatient Treatment. Find the right path to recovery that aligns with your personal circumstances.

Do you sometimes see people running around enjoying life and wonder what you’re missing? Sometimes I used to think I must be a horrible person. I had so many things going for me, and I still couldn’t be happy. I would ask myself, is there something wrong with me? Am I a narcissist?

Choosing the right treatment setting is a key step in recovery from mental health or substance use issues. Getting the correct care can make a big difference in long-term success. Many options exist, and understanding the differences helps you or your loved ones make smarter choices. According to recent studies, about 80% of people with mental health issues seek outpatient care first, but severe cases often need inpatient support. Explore the benefits of Intensive Outpatient vs. Inpatient Treatment. Find the right path to recovery that aligns with your personal circumstances.

Q: I’m going through a divorce. Because of my ADHD and impulsive spending, my husband managed our finances. I currently work part-time in a job with no benefits.

What’s the leading cause of death among women worldwide?No, it’s not cancer. In fact, the number of worldwide deaths from all types of cancer combined is equivalent to half the number of fatalities caused by heart disease in women.More than 60 million women in the United States have heart disease — and for the large majority, serious cardiac problems begin in perimenopause when estrogen, which protects the heart, decreases dramatically.While the risk for cardiovascular disease increases in all women during perimenopause, women with ADHD may face an even greater risk than their non-ADHD peers.

I hope these quotes will help lift your spirits both in the easy and bright times and in the dark times of the season and life.“To be happy you must be your own sunshine.” – C.E. Jerningham“Just living is not enough… One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” – Hans Christian Andersen“Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” – Helen Keller“Friends are the sunshine of life.” – John Hay“Some people are so much sunshine to the square inch.” – Walt Whitman“O, Sunshine! The most precious gold to be found on earth.” – Roman Payne“Laughter is a sunbeam of the soul.” – Thomas Mann“In the sun, I feel as one.” – Kurt Cobain“His laughter… sparkled like a splash of water in sunlight.” – Joseph Lelyveld“How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!” – John Muir“The sun is new each day.” – Heraclitus“My sun sets to rise again.” – Robert Browning“The sun is but a morning star.” – Henry David Thoreau“A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love.” – Max Muller“The Sun, the hearth of affection and life, pours burning love on the delighted earth.” – Arthur Rimbaud“The moon only glows when kissed by the sun.” – R.

The goal each and every day of your life is to gradually grow stronger on the inside, so that less and less on the outside can affect your inner wellness without your conscious permission.Truth be told, how you cope with unexpected problems and frustrations can easily be the difference between living a good life and living an unhealthy one. If you choose unhealthy coping mechanisms like avoidance or denial, for example, you can quickly turn a tough situation into a tragic one.

If everything has felt like too much lately, I get it.

You’re in one of those long webinars. The speaker is droning on and on about something vague. Time seems to flow in an absurdly slow manner.

Opportunities are like sunrises, if we wait too long, we miss them.Too often we waste our time waiting for the ideal path to appear. But it never does of course. Because we forget that paths are made by walking, not waiting.

Richards always dreamed of becoming a leadership trainer. It wasn’t just a casual interest, it was his passion. Throughout his life, he experienced many highs and lows, but as he reached middle age, he felt a strong pull to use his decades of corporate experience to guide and inspire others.However, the path to becoming a professional trainer wasn’t easy.

“Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” ~Robert Brault

Hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, and menopause intensify ADHD symptoms, revealing a direct correlation between estrogen and dopamine levels.Estrogen is the hormone responsible for the sexual and reproductive development of girls and women. It also manages important neurotransmitters in the brain, including dopamine, which is central to executive functioning; serotonin, which regulates mood; and acetylcholine, which aids memory.

Less than 1% of published ADHD research is dedicated to women patients. This inequity is maddening, but less shocking when you consider the fact that ADHD was regarded as a strictly childhood disorder just 20 years ago. ADHD in adults did not exist, according to medical literature published a generation ago.During my psychiatry residency from 1987 to 1991, I only treated one adult with ADHD, a young man who was having difficulty in his medical school classes.

With the benefit of hindsight, Candace Rollins* now sees the red flags of intimate partner violence (IPV) in her marriage. “The belittling comments that put me in my place — more and more over time, not letting me have friends over, driving a wedge between me and my family,” explains Rollins, a mother of three in Virginia. “I didn’t know how to deal with it, so I kept on keeping on.

A small study suggests that menstruating people with ADHD may achieve more effective and consistent symptom control by increasing the dosage of their prescribed stimulant medication in the luteal phase, when estrogen levels hit their lowest point.There is a dearth of research examining the changes in ADHD symptoms and medication efficacy during all phases of the menstrual cycle, and during other times of hormonal change.However, one 2023 study published in Front Psychiatry found that increasing a patient’s dosage of stimulant medication during the week prior to menstruation can significantly improve cognitive and emotional symptoms of ADHD during this notoriously difficult phase in the menstrual cycle.1 The study was the first of its kind to examine the impact of adjusting stimulant medication dosages during the menstrual cycle for women with ADHD and co-occurring depression and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) – a severe form of PMS.Prior to the study, these women experienced “diminished response to amphetamines in the late luteal phase” and an “exacerbation of their ADHD and depressive symptoms in the premenstrual week” that was not helped by their regular ADHD medication. This experience was echoed in ADDitude’s 2023 survey of nearly 2,000 women with ADHD, two-thirds of whom said they experienced intense symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or PMDD, beginning, on average, at age 14 and lasting for up to 40 years.

Too often, ADHD symptoms and circumstances push women to leave high school or college before graduation, limiting professional opportunities as a result. Impulsive behaviors and limiting choices can haunt us and affect our self-esteem, but they need not dictate our career potential.Here’s how to recover from early setbacks and forge a path to a satisfying work life.You have unique talents, some of which may remain hidden.

Actor Busy Philipps, 45, recently shared her ADHD diagnosis – a revelation that came as her young daughter was being evaluated and diagnosed. Philipps realized that she checked all the boxes for the condition too.Despite earning the nickname “Busy” as a child because she rarely stopped moving, she had long dismissed her ADHD symptoms as personal weaknesses.

Not available June 5th? Don’t worry. Register now and we’ll send you the replay link to watch at your convenience.“Nothing activates the brain so extensively as music.” — Dr.

January 29, 2020Low vitamin D levels during pregnancy increase the risk of ADHD diagnosis in childhood, according to a study from The Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. This is the first study to investigate the impact of maternal vitamin D levels on formally diagnosed cases of ADHD in children.1Researchers identified many covariates associated with ADHD in offspring, including maternal age, self-reported smoking, socioeconomic status, immigrant status, and substance abuse.

Research tells us that girls and women with ADHD are diagnosed much later in life than are boys and men due to misunderstood symptom profiles in women 1, outdated gender stereotypes, strong coping mechanisms among women, poor clinician awareness, and a high prevalence of comorbidities. 234Studies on gender differences show that ADHD is consistently under-diagnosed, misdiagnosed, or undiagnosed in girls and women for the reasons above — and many more.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) have today announced a sublicensing agreement between MPP and a Nigerian health technology company – Codix Bio – to start development and manufacturing of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) using technology transferred from global in-vitro diagnostics company – SD Biosensor (SDB). This agreement will contribute to advancing equitable access to vital diagnostic tools through local production, expanding manufacturing capacity in the African Region.

I hope you’ll find something here to help you enjoy your summer and beach time even more this year (and something for your Instagram posts too).“Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.” – Robert Henri“Every time I stand before a beautiful beach, its waves seem to whisper to me: If you choose the simple things and find joy in nature’s simple treasures, life and living need not be so hard.” – Psyche Roxas-Mendoza“Dance with the waves, move with the sea. Let the rhythm of the water set your soul free.” – Christy Ann Martine“At the beach, life is different.