Inspiring Conversations with Dr. CeCe Brooks, DNP of Discovery Wellness Group

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. CeCe Brooks, DNP.

Hi Dr. CeCe, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story starts when I was 21-years-old. My husband (then boyfriend) and I were living in Florida and all of a sudden I went from a healthy young adult to struggling deeply with my health. I suffered from memory loss, word retrieval issues, joint pain, brain fog, fatigue, and the inability to process emotions. I visited numerous doctors and specialists without any resolution.

Over the next 6 years, my health continued to decline – to the point where I could hardly leave my bed- and it wasn’t until I turned to functional medicine that I finally received an answer – I had Lyme Disease – and was able to completely heal. I know what it’s like not to be heard. I know what it’s like to be told “it’s all in your head”. I was misdiagnosed, misled, and misunderstood by conventional medicine. And, because of that, I’ve dedicated my education and career to discovering the true root cause of symptoms; to uncovering the truth. As a Functional Medicine Nurse Practitioner, I work to solve the jig-saw puzzle of illness.

When it comes to investigating my patient’s health at my medical practice, Discovery Wellness Group, I dig deep and constantly ask “why?”. Because relief doesn’t come from masking symptoms or a bottle of pills that eases discomfort temporarily, true relief comes from identifying triggers and healing the body.

The years I struggled with being chronically ill led me to where I am today. That struggle allows me to truly feel for my patients- to understand and validate how they feel. To be a source of hope and comfort, to be a teammate in their health journey, and to be someone who will never give up on them. That journey fuels my fight to provide patients with answers and solutions to their medical mysteries.

Outside of my Lyme Disease journey, being a mama of four also allows me to connect to a completely different subset of patients. I strive to take the time to understand each child as a whole and provide unique, holistic, and integrative care that leads children down the path of healing. I offer a safe space to listen to parent’s concerns, provide holistic treatment options, and dig to find the root cause of the symptom. In well child care, I utilize natural remedies whenever possible and focus on providing preventative care. I’m all about having open conversation with my patients and their parents in order to foster a trusting environment.

On The Discovery Doc platform, I share tips and tricks on living a less toxic lifestyle, holistic options, natural remedies, & all things mama and kiddo related. I have tons of resources available, including various E-Books and Guides as well as a podcast, that focus on non-toxic living and optimizing health!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As a medical professional, it is my job to truly listen, hear, and feel for my patients every single day. I genuinely care about their thoughts, feelings, symptoms, and experiences and I work to validate them at every appointment. I, therefore, carry their sadness, pain, happiness, and joy with me. At the beginning of my career, I often felt overwhelmed by those emotions because the patient population I treat tends to suffer from chronic symptoms. I would leave my office feeling empty and depleted only to go home to my two young children who also needed me. I quickly found myself having compassion fatigue – I was so emotionally drained from my patients that I had nothing left to give at home. It was hard to even hold a simple conversation let alone be actively and happily present with my kids.

I run a functional medicine practice, an online platform, and we now have four kids – and another on the way!– so overcoming this compassion fatigue, or burnout, has been a huge learning curve and something I honestly still work to balance every day. I naturally want to help everyone and say yes to everything, so I’ve had to work hard to be comfortable with setting boundaries. I’ve had to remove any guilt of saying ‘no’ to someone in order to prioritize myself or my family. I now set boundaries that align with my mental health – I don’t over schedule, answer emails late at night, or bring any of my work home. I take breaks when I need to and I prioritize spending time with my kids and being fully present with them.

On work days, I reset between each patient. I take 30 seconds to just focus on my breath before walking into the next appointment. At lunch, I walk outside just to get some sunshine for a few minutes without my phone or any other distractions. While driving home from work, I either listen to calming music or roll the windows down and enjoy the silence. And before I enter my home, I take just a few minutes to breathe outside and center myself – that way, when I walk in the door to my husband and four kiddos I am regrouped and calm. I am not overstimulated from the work day nor carrying those feelings on and allowing it to impact how I respond to my family.

Balance is always possible, sometimes it’s just a matter of how you prioritize your time!

As you know, we’re big fans of Discovery Wellness Group. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Discovery Wellness Group is a full-service functional medicine practice located in Cumming, GA. We offer in-person and virtual functional medicine appointments for both adults and children (in-state and out-of-state).

DWG is committed whole-heartedly to serving our patients. We are here to peel back the layers of your health challenges by uncovering truths behind chronic symptoms and rediscovering optimization. In addition to our functional medicine appointments, we also offer in-office and concierge well child visits, holistic acute care visits, and newborn home visits. By taking the time to understand each child as a whole, we work to provide unique, holistic, and integrative care that leads children down the path of healing. Discovery Wellness is dedicated to holding open conversations in order to foster a trusting environment with patients.

DWG is a safe space to listen to your concerns, provide holistic treatment options, and dig to find the root cause of the symptom. We utilize natural remedies whenever possible and focus on helping you reach your healthcare goals.

What does success mean to you?
To me, success is defined by balance. My greatest success is being able to raise my children in a homeschool hybrid setting, while still nurturing a career I love. I’ve worked very intentionally to build a life where I can be an active, present mom and wife, and still pursue my professional calling.

That balance didn’t come easily. Before starting my own functional medicine practice, I worked in two holistic practices—one pediatric, one family-centered. Both gave me incredible experience, but I eventually realized they weren’t where I could grow long-term. At one point, I felt overworked, underpaid, and capped by limitations that didn’t align with my vision. It took a leap of faith- resigning without much of a plan- to finally create my own path. Within weeks, my practice was up and running, and fully booked.

That experience taught me an important truth: success is listening to your instincts, betting on yourself, and building something that reflects both your professional passions and your personal values. For me, that’s not just about career milestones, it’s about creating a life where my work and my family thrive together. That’s the definition of true success.

Contact Info:

• Website: Discovery Wellness Group: www.discoverywellnessgroup.com ; The Discovery Doc: www.thediscoverydoc.com
• Instagram: Discovery Wellness Group: @DiscoveryWellnessGroup ; The Discovery Doc: @TheDiscoveryDoc:
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DiscoveryWellnessGroup ; https://www.facebook.com/TheDiscoveryDoc
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDiscoveryDoc

Image Credits
Kelley Raye