This Man Clean-Coached Himself Out Of Diabetes Crisis

Jason Saggs was in crisis. 54 years of living with Type 1 diabetes. High blood sugars were rotting his body slowly, dopamine deficiency had driven him to drugs and alcohol, and diabetic retinopathy was stealing his sight. Then, sitting in a clinic last April, he asked himself "What will happen if you continue to do that?" The answer changed everything.

Within months, his A1C dropped to non-diabetic levels, his retinopathy reversed, and he'd stopped drinking and taking drugs entirely. He says it's because he learned to coach himself using Clean Language questions: questions that healthcare professionals rarely ask.

"Nobody has listened to me," he said. In 54 years of medical appointments, no one had asked him the kinds of questions that would help him find his own answers.

Now he thinks that diabetes care professionals everywhere should learn Clean Language and use it frequently. Firstly, because Clean Language makes people feel listened to, rather than abandoned and alone with their potentially-fatal disease. And secondly, because it can be a huge support in the lifestyle change that's crucial in managing the disease.

The 2.5-Hour Wait

Jason discovered something that every person with Type 1 diabetes knows intimately: when your blood sugar spikes and you take insulin, you face a brutal 2.5-hour wait for it to work. "You still know that you've got two and a half hours of not feeling that good," he explained.

But instead of enduring those hours in misery, Jason learned to use Clean Language questions to transport himself elsewhere. He'd ask himself about beautiful experiences: "What's that kind of beautiful? That beautiful is gorgeous. That gorgeous..."

The questions would take him to vivid, peaceful places: "I can come out and be in a wonderful place like a meadow with the wind gently blowing, the sunlight glinting off the grass on the trees, the bunny rabbits hopping about everywhere."

"I escape. I put my mind elsewhere," he said. "And then it will come back and then I'll look at the clock and think it's only an hour now. And then as the hour ticks by, I'm feeling better."

Mastering the Internal Voice

Perhaps more significantly, Jason learned to transform what he calls the "eternal internal voice" - that constant diabetes monitoring chatter: "How are your sugars? How are your sugars? How are your sugars?"

Before Clean Language, that voice was harsh and defeating: "This is as good as you're going to get." But through his self-coaching practice, Jason says he "mastered the internal voice." Now it tells him: "You've got this, Jay. You've got this control."

"I'm the master," he said. "It's not the master."

What's Next

Next week I'll be sharing the story of Sue Cradock, a diabetes specialist nurse who's been using Clean Language in her practice for years.

Both her story, and the story of Jason's remarkable transformation, will be featured as part of WhisperQuake’s poster presentation at the ADCES Conference (Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists) in Arizona, USA in a couple of months. Healthcare professionals attending will see firsthand evidence of what becomes possible when people with diabetes experience truly being heard.

You can watch my full interview with Jason on YouTube.

WhisperQuake, Diabetes And Clean Language

What’s WhisperQuake? I’m a co-founder and significant shareholder, and for the last year I’ve been its head of Clean Language. It’s a US-registered global company, founded in Clean, whose aims include getting to grips with chronic health conditions like diabetes through scalable training for health professionals.

If you know of a health leader who’d like to know more, please put them in touch with me or send them to our next event. Thanks!