A Perth GP-turned wellness author says she is not against pharmaceutical medications but it’s time to tap into more of nature’s medicines.
By Cathy O’Leary
Perhaps it was her insatiable curiosity from childhood into the ‘what and why’ of how things work – including the human psyche – that led Dr Jenny Brockis to reinvent herself after suffering burnout as a GP.
Feeling that something was missing in how she practised as a doctor, English-born Jenny left behind a successful medical practice in Perth more than 20 years ago to embark on a career in the wellness and workplace health.
While she is still registered as a medical practitioner she no longer practises as a GP, instead retraining to become a board-certified lifestyle medicine physician and author, swapping her stethoscope for manuscripts and whiteboards.
Jenny has written five books, the most recent being The Natural Advantage, where she takes her interest in the benefits of nature to the next level, exploring how time outside can recalibrate health and wellbeing.
“When I first left general practice in 2002, my main interest then was brain health, so I was very much into researching new neuroscience as it was then,” she says. “I became certified, so I did the basic training and then the fellowship in lifestyle medicine.
“But back when I did the exams around 2017, you only had the option of doing the American certification. Now we have the Australian version, which is so much better because our medical system is not the same as the American system – thank goodness.
“It’s a holistic approach, mostly in primary care, but it’s very inclusive and not just GPs – it’s all the allied health practitioners and we’re seeking to work more collaboratively for better patient outcomes, with a strong focus on prevention first.”
Local training
Training is done through the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine, one of only seven lifestyle medicine organisations in the world, with the American group being the biggest and going for about 20 years.
Jenny says it took a while for the concept of the benefits of connecting with the natural world to catch on in Australia.
“The other members (of the society) in WA are all in general practice, with some GPs specialising in things like functional, integrative medicine,” she says. “But it’s not just doctors, anybody who is in allied health can also do lifestyle medicine.
“We follow the same holistic approach, that it’s better to keep somebody well rather than waiting for them to get sick and then fix them.
“I’ve spent my time since leaving general practice working in the corporate space, so I call myself a workplace health and wellbeing consultant, teaching the same stuff but doing it in a group setting rather than with an individual.
“I talk a lot about sleep, burnout prevention, stress management – all the things that get in the way of us living a healthy life.”
Jenny says a growing number of employers are getting the message and are keen for their staff to be healthy, because then they are going to be at work more often and perform better.
While she has been working in lifestyle medicine for the past 20 years, a few years ago she reached the point of wanting to delve deeper into the science and develop evidence-based guides covering mental health, exercise, nutrition and sleep.
COVID lessons
The confines of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic confirmed her belief that there is something ‘medicinal’ about being outdoors.
“Post-pandemic I now want to go back to my roots more deeply, but not back into general practice because that could be a bit tricky after all these years,” she says. “Every time I go to see my GP, I’m quite glad I’m not in that space anymore. But having said that, I do still miss it, which is strange after all these years.
“What I really want to be is an advocate for lifestyle medicine, so my passion is writing, and in this latest book I try to highlight something straightforward and simple that could make a big positive difference to people.
“I’ve tried to make it accessible to everyone, because I’m very privileged to live in a beautiful leafy green suburb, but there are so many people who don’t have that, but even having a pot plant on a very small balcony is good.”
Jenny argues that wherever people live, there are possibilities available to them in some shape or form to get outside a bit more.
“We’ve closeted ourselves in our homes and offices for too long, and it’s not just a feel-good factor – there are definite physiological and psychological changes that happen in our bodies when we simply go outdoors,” she says.
“In primary care, and for GPs especially, we’re seeing a strong push towards green or social prescriptions as a means of helping people, particularly with their mental health.
“There’s a lot of data coming out to support this, and no one is saying it’s going to cure everything, but it can make a significant difference to help people overcome loneliness and recover from anxiety or episodes of depression.
Nature’s medicine
“It can help to break that negative downward spiral and might mean not having to take some medication. I’m not saying we don’t need medications but there is more we can add in, particularly when recovering from illness.”
Jenny says nature’s medicine is not a new theory, with a study as far back as 1994 showing that hospital patients recovered more quickly and needed less pain medication after gall bladder surgery when they had a window looking out onto green space compared to those looking out on a brick wall.
She applauds local initiatives such as the pedestrian rainbow bridge linking Perth Children’s Hospital to Kings Park and other hospitals making green spaces for patients, visitors and staff. These could help to reduce stress and make people feel a bit better and give them more capacity to deal with whatever they had to face inside the walls.
Jenny says her latest book is part of the gradual educational process she has gone through, from the neuroscience of what causes Alzheimer’s to a more holistic approach of what keeps us well.
“It’s about the fundamentals of what we humans like to do, and how we integrate that into our daily lives which are becoming more complicated. It’s going to the basics of what really matters.”
Not surprisingly, she practises what she preaches daily, taking her two Hungarian vizsla dogs for walks past trees every day.
“It’s good for us too,” she says. “Time in nature is medicine for everyone.”
ED: For more details go to www.drjennybrockis.com
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