Beyond ADHD A Physicians Perspective: Radical Acceptance Towards Holistic Approach in Life with Dr. Katrice Brooks (Family & Lifestyle Medicine Doc)

Dr. Katrice Brooks: Give yourself, grace, this is a journey and we're on the journey. We're all trying to be better and you're even wanting to be better. You're on that journey. So give yourself grace and radically accept yourself, build community and other people. That's, you know, mirroring body, doubling, delegating, optimize your habits.

Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: Hi, welcome to Beyond ADHD, A Physician's Perspective podcast. I am your host, Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh. I'm a Family Medicine doc, with ADHD, practicing in a rural setting in Texas. I am a mother to two very energetic toddlers who are three and four years of age.

And in the past year, I have undergone radical transformation after discovering ADHD coaching, and life-coaching. For the past decade, my typical day consisted of having 300 charts backlog, a graveyard of unfinished projects, and a lack of time awareness. I didn't realize that I was not filling my own cup. I was running on fumes. The last year I figured out the secret; learn to stay in your lane. So now my mission is to help others develop systems that tap into their zone of genius. So they too can reclaim their personal lives back like I have.

Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: Well, hello? Hello. I am so excited today to have one of my friends Dr. Katrice Brooks. She is a double board certified Family and Lifestyle Medicine Physician, and she has more than 10 years of experience. So you need to talk to her because she does the whole holistic approach. Okay. She makes sure that she helps her patients get the care that they need.

She's the one who stays there and listens what she listens. She spends times with them, she answers all the questions. She's so passionate about health equity, improving their quality of life by reducing medicines and of course helping the patient make decisions. And so it's so important that you listen to today's topic, because she's gonna talk about how ADHD has been one of her superpowers to help transform her patients' lives.

One of her newest adventures has been having her own clinic. And so we're here to talk about how an ADHD entrepreneur can have all the things and how that can create a big impact in not only her personal life, but in the lives of her community. And everybody who works with her has this amazing transformation as well.

So Dr. Brooks, please let us know where you are and tell us a little bit about your clinic or what it's like to have ADHD and, start this amazing using adventure.

Dr. Katrice Brooks: All right. Hi, Dr. Mercado. I'm so excited to be on here. Just talking with your audience, super, super excited. You are amazing, and you're doing amazing things.

So I'm really so honored as well. My life basically changed when I began to accept my brain and to start working with it rather than working against it. When I stopped trying to, be like everybody else. And I started trying to help and support myself and that journey of supporting myself and radical acceptance, has helped me to radically accept my patients and to help them rather than to try to put everybody a square peg into a round hole, trying to fit everybody into these boxes. It helped me to see kind of the individualistic needs of people and meet them where they are and help them get where they're going. So I really kind of transform my approach to my patients. So I really do think of it as a superpower. And I have lived with this my entire life and not. Realizing kind of what it is. And I do wanna say that I'm self-diagnosed ADHD or self-diagnosed neuro divergent, and I might be, you know, just on the spectrum or a product of complex trauma, but my brain, you know, just doesn't work like, most other people, or my brain works like my brain.

I can't even say like other people, but my brain works like my brain. And I found that what everyone else did and the rewards that they were getting in their brain, I didn't get the same thing. So I had to create paths for myself. And it's been a journey because as you know, I'm sure as your patients know is taken me. I've taken lots of hits because of it too.

Like it is now my superpower, but this journey to entrepreneurship was because it was almost my Achilles heel, you know, I know you, you actually have a course where you've given talks on recognizing ADHD in your coworkers. And I wish some, one of my coworkers would've recognized it in me. You know, I like most other physicians who struggle with ADHD my entire career with those 10 years of experience working for big medicine.

Almost the whole time since hitting the ground, I struggled to close my charts. I would have periods where I did it. Great. And then I would, it would fall apart and I would do it great. And I would fall apart. And you know, the, the talk in the office would be like, Dr. Brooks is such a great doctor because, you know, ADHD does allow me, that's my superpower.

I'm able to talk to people and really hone in and listen and be present and they love it. But you know, when it comes to finishing tasks that I don't wanna do at the end of the day, I struggle. You know, But I've, I've learned to harness that. I'll talk about some of the points that have kind of got me there, but you know, it has been a journey and a journey of self discovery.

Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: Yeah. It's so important to highlight what you just said, radical acceptance. And I think everybody who has ADHD or who, like you said, maybe trauma induced ADHD, will know that we tend to be our inner critics. When we learned to be like, okay, nothing's wrong. I'm not broken. I just think differently. And therefore, I must do things differently.

The moment that you started, like accepting you, then all of a sudden, like you just said it was radical because you started accepting your patient. I mean, they teach us not to be judgemental, but we're human. Like humans have judgemental minds. Yeah. Even if you want or not, we do right. Practicing on purpose. Radical self acceptance is like so rewarding for you and for your patients. Right? If you don't practice self acceptance, if you don't say, okay, this is what's going on, how can I help myself then? Like you said, it's almost like Achilles because you don't know what you don't know. So how can you do things differently if you weren't aware that you were quote unquote not doing it your way

Dr. Katrice Brooks: And so I found that was step one is to give yourself grace, cuz then otherwise with ADHD, I would be mad at myself constantly. I forgot my keys. I can't get out the house. Like all of the things I'll be like, Ugh, what's wrong with you? And it's like, that's okay. It's just, it's my brain. And I just to accept it doesn't mean that I don't want to change it.

To deal with it. It just means that here we are, this is, this is what I have. Right. I struggle to leave the house in the morning. I know that. Right. So now I can change things about it rather than just beating myself up about why can't you do this? What's wrong with you? Which is, that was the approach that I took for most of my life.

I would bear white knuckle. Until the time where I couldn't and it would, it would fall apart. You know, we only have so much willpower, the built systems and other things so that I don't have to white knuckle it. That is just, that helps me. Yeah.

Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: Good. Now tell me about this adventure of your practice, like, tell me what that's about. Because again, we, even though we have ADHD, like we all benefit from structures and systems, like you said. And then when you go from, okay, corporate is down my neck telling me I have to do X, Y, and Z to now you're like your own boss. And like you said, you now have to set up the systems for you to tell yourself I gotta close this otherwise I'm not gonna get paid. And people working for me are not gonna get paid. So tell me, what have you noticed or what have you done now in your

entrepreneurship?

Dr. Katrice Brooks: Great question. And so part of me leaving corporate medicine was that I felt like a cognitive machine. I did not like to kind of the stick and carrot kind of do this. Okay, I'll do this. And so when I left to create my practice, I was very aware of my shortcomings and corporate medicine and how I was struggling. And I really wanted to design something different for myself because I was designing it. So I also wanna be transparent. I actually also do locum still as you know, part of making money.

And I'm, I'm actually thriving in locums. That's a whole nother story. But when setting up my own practice, my own entrepreneurship, my own, clinic one, I set up a direct primary care clinic so that I do not make money based on me submitting the bills, but it's a membership model. So I make money. You know, constantly, and that's not something that I, I won't say, have to worry about, cuz that comes with a whole new set of billing issues. You have to make sure the credit card is on file and that it hasn't expired, but I made it so that it's not, I submit this chart. I can get my money because I won't say that model didn't work because now I am thriving and locums, I figured it out.

But I thought that that was the problem. So when I set up my clinic, I was looking for a model that wasn't so dependent on that. So when I did that, also, I gotta strive. That has absolutely changed my life. I really, really struggled to close my charts. But again, now in locums, I close my own charts, you know, 25 30 charts a day, because talking to you, you've taught me a lot of techniques and I've, I've figured out that, but on my own. I really hated the in depth work that I like to do in primary care spending all this time with patients and talking to them for an hour. I really hated also charting while I was doing that. I really felt that it interrupted the patient relationship. And so I got inspired from hello and it's been wonderful.

I wish that I had gotten this before. When I was employed. I might have been able to stay employed. Although I did ask. This journey to entrepreneurship. I realized that I was struggling and drowning and I felt that I had to, my company couldn't save me cuz I, they, they would ask, what do you need? And I'm like, I don't know.

So they said, oh, we'll close your, your we'll close your schedule. Closing my schedule didn't work for me. That means that I don't get paid. That means I'm not seeing patients and making RVs, which is how I would get paid. And yeah, I get to sit here and close the chart. I can make the money you already made, but it doesn't help me in the future.

And it doesn't set up systems, so they didn't know how to help me. They didn't have anything scheduled. So I realized I was drowning and I realized that I just needed something different like that, that scenario wasn't working. So the scribe certainly helped me. And. it allowed me to spend time with my patients that I really needed also something else that, not struggle, but these systems.

So now that I work for myself, I, control everything, right. Nobody's saying you gotta do this. You gotta see these patients and you gotta make sure that you make this money and you have to be here from this time to this time. But I had to say that. Right. And for me, it's easier for me to follow my own rules and to follow someone else's rules.

I don't know why, you know, so I set up rules for myself. I have these rules that when I have patients on the schedule, I have to come in 30 minutes early. Otherwise I'm barely making it in on time. Right. We're we're arriving together and it's like, oh, I'm sorry. You know me? So I had. Create these rules, but the rules are just suggestions for my life, because I know when I follow my little rules, it runs right.

These things that the..

Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: They're your systems, right? Yes. You created your systems. So, I mean, we call them rules or whatever, but the really your systems you're creating. A wiggle room or like a safety net, right? That's exactly it like, you know, yes, I'm gonna arrive at the same time with my patient, but what if. I arrived, 30 minutes earlier. I can set myself up. I can breathe and I can show up how I want to show up because I decided I want to show up this way. Not because X, Y, and Z person is telling me. Right. But you've noticed to throw an error. What. Makes you feel like you're showing up your best version and then not only that, but you are empowering your patients to be listened to and you're creating it so that, okay.

I'm doing the wonderful things that I love, which is that interaction with my patient, not having to write this damn chart, like my scribe is gonna help me. But at the, the same time, like you said, I get to go and practice in locum. Because now it feels fun. Not because you have to. And so. It's so different because now you're practicing medicine in your way.

And like you said, even though your provider where you were at before wanted to help you, they couldn't help you because you were not even aware of what you needed. And this is something that I always try to tell to my clients, because when I'm talking to you guys, you guys have to understand that you're talking to Diana, like three or four years ahead of you.

I was there and I was there for like 10 years. And you're talking to Katrice right here, like you, because maybe you've been considering doing DPC or you've been considering doing locums because locums is cool because. It's like Playland, you go, you do what you need to and you piece out. Right.

Dr. Katrice Brooks: Love it. Love it. It's great. Really?

Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: And who knows, like if they're close enough, there can be like, oh, I love you. Let me follow you. Right. Like, which I'm sure you've had.

Dr. Katrice Brooks: I do. Absolutely. I do it, in Wisconsin. And so I kind of bring my cards with me sometimes because I do all this stuff and I'm like, oh, check me out on social media.

And they can see the passion. They see that I'm a doctor who's so invigorated and happy to do the work now rather than being run down, like. Life is a joy for me now, I, I enjoy my locums and working that and doing urgent care. I love my clinic, but I'm, I'm happy with medicine again. This is really figuring this out has really just helped me to love medicine again, entrepreneurship.

But again, my ADHD for me makes that a superpower. So I'm really thrilled.

Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: Yeah. So this is so important for our listeners to listen that, you know, we don't have to stay in the damn hamster wheel. if there's something that is not working, just ask yourself, what could I do different? Could it be different? How can I create it different?

Don't just learn the hopelessness. We can unlearn that stuff. And unfortunately, sometimes it's trial and error, but when you do create your systems, Yeah. Oh my God. Do they work right?

Dr. Katrice Brooks: oh my God. And it's trial and error, but it, it kind of has to be like, your system may not work for me. You know, some of it will because there are like some principles that, you know, we, we all share, but, I literally have.

All my habits, right? So my morning task and my afternoon and stuff, and I tweak it like I look and say, oh, that didn't work for me. Or when I do that, I really slip into that. Or, you know, I spend too much time doing that. Or if I scroll my phone in the morning, then it's hard for me to get outta bed and do the rest of the stuff I need to do.

So my systems have been years creating it, but they absolutely do work for me. They allow me to thrive and to soar and to not worry about the little things. Cause I've my previous self has already thought about that and figured out the best route. And so I can rely on the work that I did and build from there.

And that it's been amazing. And every day, little tweaks, like, Ooh, I need to include that. And I need to put this on my checklist of, you know, when I travel. Cause I have to have these checklists because otherwise I'll forget things. And I have, you know, I call it my autism bag. I really don't mean to offend anyone, but I have my book bag.

You saw it when you saw me that I carry everything in and when I don't have that bags, I don't have a meltdown, but it's like, oh, I forgot this. And I'm, it's in my bag. Like just those things I know that I need. And so if I bring them with me, I have them. And those that is my system. My book bag is a system for me.

It has my mask and it has, you know, wallets and just all sorts of things that I may need a bag of pens, just all this stuff.

Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: Yeah. So you, you have figured out that if you have your backpack with you, you have the essentials that you need. And you don't have to think twice they're there, your future self already knew what you needed. And so it prepped you. And then you don't have to worry, like you don't have to go hunt for the prunes, like all over the hotel, looking for things , or whatever. Right? Or you don't have to be like, oh man, I can't walk into this store because I don't have X, Y, Z, or you have your charger in there, which, you know, we all gonna lose 10,000 chargers.

Right? So like I saw a post the other day, somebody said, oh my God, my husband like will not share his charger. Cause I've lost three already. And so sometimes it's just, like you said, having little checklists and because the more that we do things. That's how they become habits, right? Because it's so easy to build a bad habit or to build a good habit.

And, and the people that work with me know that I don't like using the word good and bad because I like effective and inefficient. Even the bad ones or the inefficient ones. They still give us a result because we're doing them. What if on purpose, we decided we wanted to have fun time and like block fun, time off. Right? And then the systems we use were efficient to actually protect that time off instead of seeking into it. Right?

[00:17:47] Dr. Katrice Brooks: Absolutely. I am obsessed with habits. So that was kind of my. Before I realized that I had neuro a neuro divergent brain. It was like, you know what, if I do things in a certain way, I get better outcomes. So like, I read all the habit books. I'm working on a habit app. I am obsessed with habits because our habits, you know, over the long term, that is the result of our life. And so that is also optimize my habits. I'm constantly tweaking them. I'm constantly is this efficient and effective. I also use that as well.

When I was younger when I was in first grade, my, my teacher told me I was lazy. And that, you know, this is like just inner. I got like a D in handwriting, probably this ADHD. Right. But the thing is, I was just efficient. I preferred efficiency. Right. So I like things that are efficient and I'm always seeking efficiency in my life.

And I'm always re reevaluating those habits, all of them, because I want to maximize efficiency. And, you know, there are days where I don't, you know, days where I'm off and it's like, okay, You know, I've protected this time. I've blocked off this time to be off, to not do things, but in order for me to run and optimize and have the life that I like living, that brings me joy habit, it served me.

Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: Yeah, that's so good. So tell me, how do you engage in your selfcare? That's probably been one of the most to me self-care has been what has been so radical and life changing for me. Is there certain things that you do that you feel like empower you or help you or recharge you?

Dr. Katrice Brooks: Yeah, I actually feel that self care saved me and this really roundabout way. And cuz I got ADHD. I like to talk, but at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Was it yeah, 2020. I actually got like, almost obsessed with taking care of my hair. The salons were closed and I'm just like, oh, I have to do this. So I joined this like group and the group actually fell apart and that gave me more time.

And then I'm like, well, what do I wanna do with my life? But self-care is paramount for me. So literally every day I take the bath, I call it my water therapy. I get home from work. I run my bath every single day. Like when I, when I do locums, if my hotel does not have a tub, I need a different room because this is a part of my self care.

And sometimes I can't do it. Right. So we do have to be flexible if I'm traveling too much or there is none, then I won't. But as soon as I get home every day, you know, my bath. Part of my bath is my whole routine. Like I have a skin routine that I do in the morning and in the evening and my hair routine, and this really helps to, center me and sustain me.

And I found actually the same with patients. I found patients that had, I have patients that are literally on F M L A, that could not leave the house. They were just having a really hard time because of anxiety, but we could talk about their skincare and how to get their skin together. And they really put in the work for their skin, but they had a hard time literally leaving the house and exercising, but I again met them where they were. So it's like, okay, well this maybe gives you dopamine doing the skincare. You feel good about this? Let's keep filling you up with this and using that to maybe do the other things that we wanna do.

So self care for me is absolutely paramount. Sleep is paramount. I do not like if I don't get enough sleep, I am grouchy. And so I make sure that I protect my sleep. I, in terms of my systems, I absolutely have to be in bed by 11. I've known that since I was probably 18, that like I always known that I have to get sleep.

And if I don't, I do not work. So sleep is super important. Literally the self care of, you know, finding time to relax, finding time to even connect with other people. You know, sometimes I find that I like to be a hermit. Part of selfcare is, you know, making sure that I talk to my sister and my family and, you know, connecting and recharging because that helps fill up my cup as well.

So those things are just as important as my work.

 Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: Yes. That's so good again, if you know how you're taking care of you, then it's so much easier to be empower others to do the same, right? Yeah, because we, you probably see this in your patients. Like they come in and they have a no awareness. And it's okay.

It's not their job to figure out that's why they're coming to us. But thing is sometimes we don't even have awareness that we're burned out or we're tired. Right. Because we've been told all along, like, keep going, keep going, keep going. And we don't realize that taking that pause, like you just said to go and to take your bath on purpose, to feel your skin on purpose, to breathe and know.

These few minutes are mine. Yeah. Like I don't have to do anything, be anything to anybody, whatever these are mine. Right. Helping them to do the same. Oh my God. It's like, when I tell patients like, okay, today's meeting, we're gonna see quick meds. We're taking off. And they look at me like what usually you're putting on and I'm.

Well, anytime we have more than five, they play around. So then I'm getting meds to cover to cover the side effects of the meds, right? So like what can we take off? Or what can we go down on? Or what can we do? Right? And so incorporating exercise and like you see routines tapping different things that can increase the dopamine level goes such a long way.

 Dr. Katrice Brooks: Absolutely. I also wanna mention the exercise and eating. I'm a lifestyle medicine doctor, so I, have to, and I didn't, but you know, exercise is fundamental as well. I found that, I do daily in the morning, Ash chaga. And if I don't, then my life can still run. Right. Like I can push through, but it doesn't cause me to thrive as when I'm doing, you know, yoga every morning, which has, you know, meditation and movement. And, you know, when I'm eating my fruits and vegetables and trying to get my daily five, you know, I have more vitality and more energy, right. By really feeding my body good fuel. I'm able to work better, you know, work better, sleep better, be a better person.

And so, you know, it's, sometimes those things fall apart and self-care is probably one of the first things that fall apart. That's how I kind of know when something is going on. It's like, Ooh, I haven't washed my. You know, I haven't done my full routine in a few days. It's like, something's going on with me? Let me do some introspection to see what's up. Right? Like it's these habits that I normally have that are doing so well are slipping up. Let me dig deeper.

 Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: That's so important that you have that insight to not be judgemental, but to be curious, because you'd be surpised. My clients are like, but I was doing so well. And then I just stopped and that's it. I'm broken. I'm like, no, you're human. something else took priority. Absolutely. Let's look back. What was working, what was not working? Why did this fall by the website? And don't make, can be mean a thing. It it's normal like, like routines, like, you know, we all been taught.

21 days or whatever, but we looked it up the other day when we were in a group coaching session. And I remember I heard it from the one thing podcast, 66 days or something and we Googled it while, you know, we were in the thing and it said anywhere. From 21 days to 221 days. Every person's different. And so then that's why they average it and they say 66 days, but give yourself grace, you've been doing certain things for how long, and now all of a sudden you, it came into this awareness and then now we're trying to change everything. Right? So it's so, so nice. So tell me, how do people work with you if they want to be part of your holistic approach, practice that you have?

 Dr. Katrice Brooks: Awesome. So pick people can work with me in a variety of ways you can join my clinic. the website is quench.clinic. So that is literally my clinic's website. If you want to become a member, you can join. I am available in Wisconsin, Illinois, and North Carolina. That's where I'm licensed. But if you are unable to work with me clinically in my clinic, I do have a Facebook live show that I have, weekly and I'm on Facebook.

Take all the socials I'm on them. Um, I'm on them literally as Katrice Brooks, MD, or Dr. Katrice Brooks. Very, very easy to find. If you Google me, you will find me I'm out there. Happy to help. If you wanna ask me any direct questions they can email me at hello@KatriceBrooksmd.com. But not medical questions, but you know, happy to help. So yeah, I'm out and living in the world.

 Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: Awesome. So where do you see yourself in three years? For fun? What are you gonna be doing?

 Dr. Katrice Brooks: That's a good question. I think I'm working towards a more nomadic life. So hopefully in three years, say three years on this day, I will be say maybe two months in another country enjoying it, but also doing some telemedicine and just living my dreams.

That I'm doing that now. So life is a joy and more of it. I also hope that you didn't mention, but I hope that quench is, possibly multiple locations. So I'm serving even more people on a bigger scale.

 Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: That's amazing. So good. So what do you think is your one super powerful ADHD?

Dr. Katrice Brooks: Oh, good question. It is hyperfocus. My ability to hyperfocus. I think that has helped me become a physician. It's helped me to anything that I wanna learn. I can just make myself like, oh, I'm interested in that. And then my brain's like, know all about it, right? Like it's then will give me not unlimited dopamine, but it will, you know, an abundance of dopamine.

So my hyper focus. I love it's something that I I'm happy to have. Dr. D mentioned another colleague of ours, like follow the dopamine. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't, right? Sometimes a dopamine will have you, plan, you know, money, money, or not money crush, candy crush all the time. But sometimes, you know, it helps you get through med school.

So I try to, to supplement my dopamine quest for things that are good and along the path of what I've picked, but I, I love that I can hyperfocus.

 Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: Awesome. Okay. So this is the last question. And people usually laugh when I say this, I say, because people with ADHD have wondering attention and you know, we all zoom out and then we're like, wait, what, what was, let's say they just started listening like right now, right this second, what would be the takeaway point you would want them to have?

 Dr. Katrice Brooks: So I have the three things actually that we talked about. I, I list them out and I'll just sum summarize them, right? So one is give yourself grace, this is a journey and we're on the journey. We're all trying to be better. And you're even wanting to be better. You're on that journey.

So give yourself grace and radically accept yourself. Two build community and other people that's, you know, mirroring body, body, doubling, delegating, you know, getting scribe and three is to optimize your habits. So give yourself. Use people and optimize your habits. That's it. You know, just rinse to repeat.

Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: Awesome. Thank you so much for your time. This has been such an incredible opportunity to chat with you and you gave us so much value, so much content. You're real, you're honest, and this is why I love you. That's my friend. Thank you, all your patience. Love you too. So thank you, you so much again.

 Dr. Katrice Brooks: Thank you, Dr. Mercado. This is amazing. You're amazing. Am so honored. Thank you. Thank you.

Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh: As someone who understands that time is our most valuable asset. I am so honored that you have shared your time with me. Please click the subscribe button and join my Facebook group: Beyond ADHD, A Physician's Perspective so that you never missed an opportunity to create time at will. Do share this podcast with your friends they too can can learn to live life and stay in their own lane.

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Email: overachievewithadhd@gmail.com

About Dr. Katrice Brooks

Double board certified Family and Lifestyle Medicine. Dr. Katrice has more than 10 years of experience in primary care. 

She is passionate about health equality, improving lives by reducing medication, and patient autonomy. Dr. Brooks transforms her patients lives with holistic approach to care by really listening and helping patients achieve their goals. 

 

Website: quench.clinic/

Facebook: facebook.com/katrice.brooks.7

Instagram: @katricebeemd

Email: hello@katricebrooksmd.com