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5 Things This Primary Doctor Does to Take Care of Herself
Focusing on mind and body is good medicine
Staying fit can support physical and mental health.
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Key takeaways
- Regular movement, connecting with others, emotional processing and social connections help Dr. Lucy McBride feel her best.
- A solid self-care routine can help you improve your well-being, which also boosts health.
- Finding a trusted primary care doctor, staying current on screenings and understanding the type of patient you are can help you get what you want from your health care.
Good health involves more than just looking at your lab results, says Dr. Lucy McBride, an internist in Washington, D.C. She encourages her patients to move beyond simply monitoring metrics like cholesterol and body mass index (BMI) to understand what being “healthy” actually means in the context of your life, body, goals and values.
At 53, McBride wants to empower her patients to get the most out of their health care. That’s why she wrote Beyond the Prescription: A Doctor’s Guide to Taking Charge of Your Health.
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What does this doctor do to take care of herself? These five things help McBride and may help you do the same.
1. She exercises most days
McBride’s fitness routine doesn’t involve a gym membership or subscription, but she still makes it a point to get moving most days of the week. Her ultimate goal in working out isn’t hitting a heart rate target or a specific amount of repetitions — it’s to integrate her body and mind. The goal of exercise used to be about body image and weight, but now she does it “because movement is maintenance.”
Dr. Lucy McBride
Joseph Tran
“I never make it fancy,” McBride says, noting that some of her workouts are simply yoga at home or walking around the neighborhood while chatting with a friend. “No designer leggings required,” she says.
When something in her body hurts or bothers her, she pays attention to it because those signals mean something is unbalanced. “I try to take care of my skeleton the way I take care of my car … I treat it with care,” she says.
2. She safeguards her sleep
Prioritizing quality sleep every day can thwart diseases and enhance mental health. That’s why good z’s are a must for McBride.
“It’s its own prescription,” she says. “I protect my sleep like it’s my job.”
To do that, she makes sure she has a soothing wind-down routine in the evening. About an hour before bed, she may listen to an audiobook or podcast. Another thing that helps: puttering, as McBride calls it, who says that she sometimes lies on a yoga block or organizes a drawer of clothing to unwind. Taking a bath with Epsom salts or a relaxing fragrance is another pre-sleep strategy. From time to time, she does scroll on her phone before bed or have a coffee too late in the day, she admits.
3. She unloads — mentally and physically
Instead of keeping her thoughts inside, McBride believes in externalizing her feelings. That means journaling about them or taking a brief walk during the day if an adrenaline rush makes her feel too stressed. She does this to keep her thoughts from running amok and admits to getting anxious at times. She also makes it a point not to accept every invitation she receives.
It's important to get curious about what chronic, unexamined stress you’re living with that doesn’t have an outlet. From there, the boring-but-proven levers matter most: sleep, movement and human connection. Sometimes a daily walk or a standing phone call with a friend does more than any prescription, she says.
McBride lost a younger sibling a few years ago in a car accident and sought therapy to process the grief, which has helped her work on a mindset of acceptance.
“One of the beautiful things that dealing with grief has taught me is being in the present moment,” she says.
4. She connects with others
McBride values connection, which helps her feel her best. “I’m just always connecting with other people because as you probably know, social isolation and loneliness are not good for our health,” she says, adding that social ties feel natural to her.
In addition to connecting with friends and family locally, she participates in group texts between family members and has a group chat with friends from high school.
5. She stays on top of screenings
Even a doctor needs a doctor, and McBride is no exception. It took a bit of trial and error to find a physician she liked, but they’ve developed trust, which is key for good health.
“I’m a real partner with her,” she says. “I pretend I’m not a doctor when I see her.”
McBride makes sure she is prompt with screenings and vaccines. Her doctor asks good questions, keeps her informed about her health recommendations and treats her like more than a lab test — something McBride values.
To find a great primary care doctor, pay attention to the their interpersonal skills. Also, see how the doctor reacts when they don’t know something. If they don’t have the answer, what matters is that they follow up and get it, McBride says. Realize that they probably don’t have a ton of time to interact with you, which is a result of the system, not the doctor, McBride says.
Beyond the Prescription: A Doctor's Guide to Taking Charge of Your Health by Lucy McBride
Lucy McBride
Advice for taking charge of your health
McBride’s book delves into topics including how to understand health data, healthy eating, dealing with injuries, caring for your brain and prioritizing mental health.
People largely don’t know what’s possible when they have a doctor who understands their health beyond what lab tests show. “Most Americans haven't been given access to a physician who has time to think about the invisible, unmeasurable elements of health and how they play a role in your everyday life, like your childhood, your upbringing … how they inform your relationship with food, your relationship with alcohol, your relationship with work … your tolerance for risk, your stress, your anxiety, your mood,” she explains.
She encourages readers — and patients — to map their health ecosystem. “It’s much more nuanced than just a set of lab tests,” she says.
Another way to be more empowered at the doctor’s is to understand your “patient personality,” which means knowing what version of yourself you bring to the visit. You may just want a prescription or the doctor to interpret tests. Some people want permission to try a new treatment but instead ask about risks and benefits. When you are aware of your patient personality, “you stop bumping up against the same frustrations and start working with your natural tendencies instead of against them,” she says.
Ask your doctor
In her book, McBride gives lists of questions to ask your doctor. Here are a few standouts:
- Could you help me understand what this test result means in the context of my health situation and risk factors?
- Which intervention is the most important for me to start right away, and what data do we expect will change?
- How significant is the change in my numbers from last time?
- What do you suggest I eat in a day?
- Which supplements and vitamins do I absolutely need? Which ones might do harm?
- What warning sights should I watch for that would indicate that I need to modify my activity?
The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
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