Diabetics Doing Whatta Prick with Adam Schreiner

[00:00:08] Rob Howe: Welcome to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast. We've been telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics all across the world since 2015, and we have over a thousand years of living with T1D on the podcast. The interviews range from incredible feats to everyday victories, and we celebrate them all just the same. Thanks for listening, and if you want to get involved even further, just send me an email. at rob at diabeticsdoingthings.com. This podcast is sponsored by Health IQ. And if you don't remember Health IQ from the previous episodes that they've sponsored, Health IQ is an insurance company on a mission to improve the world's health by rewarding runners, cyclists, weight lifters, swimmers, yogis, well-managed diabetics, and other Americans living a healthy lifestyle. They're actually the first insurance company rewarding patients with type 2 diabetes who manage their A1c with a healthy diet and exercise, with large savings on their life insurance. To support the show and get a free quote, go to healthiq.com slash DDT. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Diabetics Doing Things. We are telling the amazing stories of people with type 1 diabetes from all across the world. Today, my very special guest calling me from Idaho, which I imagine it's super cold, is Adam Schreiner. Adam, welcome to the show.

[00:01:36] Adam Schreiner: Rob, thanks for having me, man. Really appreciate you having me on your show here.

[00:01:40] Rob Howe: Well, happy to have you. And if what I've read about you and read from you is any indication to your real personality, I think this is going to be a super fun interview.

[00:01:51] Adam Schreiner: Yeah, I hope so. Right back at you, man. I'm a huge fan of the podcast and just your involvement in the, you know, diabetic community in general. And yeah, you're inside following you on Instagram.

[00:02:03] Rob Howe: I'm working on my Instagram game. So, you know, you got it down. Free tip. The key to a great Instagram is have friends who are photographers. And then that's my Instagram hack. It's foolproof. Feel free to take that anyone who's listening.

[00:02:21] Adam Schreiner: So Adam, like the show, like we do on the show, let's start with diagnosis and kind of turn from there? Absolutely. So I was diagnosed when I was 10. I'm 31 now. My diagnosis was a little different than I know some diabetics out there. I actually didn't get deathly sick like I know that a lot of diabetics do when they get diagnosed because they don't know what's going on. Sometimes there's a misdiagnosis. They wait too long to go to the hospital or whatever. I actually was just going in for a checkup on a procedure I had had the year before and they found sugar in my urine and so they had me follow up on that and diabetes does run in my family so when they told my mom or they asked my mom do you type 1 diabetes a thing in your family, in your genes And she said, yeah, she kind of knew at that point that like, probably that was probably the direction that this was going to go. So they followed up, did some blood work. And yeah, they were just, you know, looking like, you know, you had some elevated sugars. And they had me watch my blood sugar for about two weeks. And it was actually fine. They would like have me check it after meals, you know, to see if I was spiking or anything. And for the first two weeks, it wasn't, it was fine. And then, you know, I'll never forget that moment when I tested my blood sugar and looked down at the meter and it read 315. And, you know, just a little kid at that point, so didn't know what else to do. So just kind of broke down and, you know, it's like you don't even realize really what's going on at that age. At least I didn't. You know, it just was like I knew it was bad. You know, that was like the only thing I knew is that like that's not a good thing. So that was pretty much how I got diagnosed. And, you know, when I got diagnosed, there was kind of a key moment where, and nothing against my pediatrician, he was a fantastic pediatrician. but you know he said one thing to me he said you know with the advances in technology and you know how fast the medical you know technology around diabetes is moving you know by the time you're 18 years old there'll be a cure for sure you know no doubt and as we all know doing this podcast and, um, that there's not a cure as of yet. So, um, that from about 10 to 21, I did pretty much everything I could to, to, uh, take the best care of, you know, best care of myself as I could. But, you know, when you're a teenager growing up with this stuff, it, uh, you know, you have your highs and your lows for sure.

[00:05:17] Rob Howe: Well, and I think that's something that a lot of people talk about in the diabetes community and a lot of parents I think are concerned about. And we forget too often that being a teenager without diabetes is tough, right? And you have, you know, your hormones are running amok. Anything that's different about you gets called out at school. It's so hard to kind of learn where you fit in. so you know diabetes just becomes another component of that it makes things very difficult at times any advice that you'd have for you know people either parents or or teens who are kind of

[00:05:54] Adam Schreiner: going through that right now you know i just and i learned this later and this is my advice to anybody you know is this don't ever don't ever think of yourself as sick or as a disease just It's always, you know, and this is just one part of it, but just always keep a positive mindset around it. Like I'll never forget at recess when I was, you know, maybe I think I'd been diabetic for two years at this point, maybe one year. Some kid called me diabetic boy. And like I remember just like thinking like, is that like supposed to be insulting? I didn't even think of it as something that was bad or something that someone could make fun of me for. That's just my thing. I know that other people say this. It's not as big of a deal as it might seem. A lot of people don't necessarily know the extent of diabetes and what it entails. But, you know, to the youngsters out there, you know, just I wish that I would have been told to, you know, don't tell yourself that you have a disease because that only is going to make, you know, your body, your mind is a powerful, powerful thing. So if you're telling yourself that you've got a disease and you have this condition all the time, reaffirming that, then, you know, your body is going to respond in that way and potentially give you some, you know, some complications along the way. It's a big part of my mentality on this is that you tell yourself every day that you are radiantly healthy and you are well and you feel great. And if you're struggling with managing the sugars that, wake up and tell yourself, I have great control and that sort of thing. A lot of affirmations for me have been huge in my diabetes management.

[00:08:01] Rob Howe: And do you remember where that came from? I'm a big believer in power of positive thinking and affirmations and being decisive and not lying to yourself about things, like recognizing what's really true and what's within your own control. Do you know where that came from in your life? Do you manage your A1C through eating well and exercising regularly? Of course you do. You listen to this podcast. You're on the cutting edge. Then you deserve the lower life insurance rates from Health IQ, the only insurance company that's giving you savings, rewarding your healthy lifestyle. Just go to healthiq.com slash DDT, Diabetics Doing Things DDT, to get your free quote and support the show.

[00:08:43] Adam Schreiner: Well, that actually came from, for me, I said, like I said, from 10 to 21 growing up, that was kind of 21 was kind of the pivotal moment in my life when I got really, really depressed and down about diabetes because, you know, and like I said, it's nothing against my pediatrician, but I held on to this one thing that he had said about that there would be a cure by the time I was 18. I mean, I really held on to that. And 18, nothing, 19, nothing, 20, you know, 21, not even a change in how they administer insulin into the body. And so for me, when I was 21, it really hit a low point in my life. And what turned it around is I watched this movie called What the Bleep Do We Know!? And that opened up my eyes to kind of this whole other world of thinking. And I just took this, you know, it's actually called Down the Rabbit Hole, so I always use that analogy. I just went down this rabbit hole and I studied all these and followed all these meditation experts and neuroscientists. And I just kind of got obsessed with how this power of positive thinking, but even past that, of how this can help you with the ailments in your life. And so for me, that's where I got it. I started doing all sorts of different meditations, and I went on some crazy radical meditation retreats where they, blindfold you for four hours and do all these crazy things. And that was where I learned the power of those thoughts and what they can do to the body. And so that was where it came from for me. But it's nothing new. We all know affirmations are a thing. Writing something on the mirror, in your bathroom mirror of something you want to achieve. So you see it every time you look at yourself in the mirror. You see this little affirmation. You know, this isn't necessarily new. I just think it's one of those things that is kind of overlooked. Its magnitude and power is a little overlooked sometimes.

[00:10:57] Rob Howe: It is, and I think it's one of those things that's very hard to explain to someone, and it's one of those things that really until you're ready to hear it, you kind of take it as a grain of salt. You know, for me, my own personal meditation journey, it took me meditating for a year and then taking a few months off and then getting back to a consistent practice to realize how important it was for me personally to have that practice involved in my life.

[00:11:25] Adam Schreiner: Totally.

[00:11:25] Rob Howe: Impacting my work, my relationships, my diabetes care management. Everything stems from taking the 10 minutes out in the morning before I do anything else to just say, hey, I'm here with myself today. It's such a weird thing. I could have read a million books saying the same thing over and over and over, but it never would have reinforced itself for me had I not done it, taken a little time off, and then come back to it. And I know you have a meditation business, if I'm not mistaken. That journey actually led to you being a much more consistent and deeper practice.

[00:12:02] Adam Schreiner: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, I actually had a business partner, and this guy is crazy yoga man. Like his practice is we have very different practices. You know, my motivation to get into it. was because of my health and his motivation to get into it was like, you know, more of a Buddhist sort of, um, school of thought and doing that sort of, uh, going down that path. And so we had the business here for about five years and, uh, we actually no longer are doing it anymore because I wanted to, uh, you know, about two years into the business is when I first got the idea to start writing uh what a prick the book um and so uh we went we did it for another three years after that and we kind of just got to the point where it wasn't really we kind of plateaued and we both had different ventures we wanted to pursue so we just called it and uh and i was able to finish my book and and get get all that done and um and he was able to go do do his thing obviously there There were no hard feelings. We just, it kind of ran its course.

[00:13:13] Rob Howe: Sure. No, totally understand. I think that's such a good sign of a good business is if it can end amicably and just be finished, right?

[00:13:22] Adam Schreiner: Yeah, exactly.

[00:13:23] Rob Howe: You just mentioned it, but you've written a book about your life with diabetes and also some of your tips and practices for managing it called What a Prick. And I think of all the diabetes puns out there that we hear in the community on a daily basis, you really backed yours up in the book by not only your approach to care, but also just in the personality and voice that you show throughout. Tell me where were you in your diabetes journey when you came up with the idea? Because I imagine there was a lot of emotion and potentially frustration. Because this is not a small endeavor. You mentioned it took a few years to get up to writing the book. So where'd the idea come from? And then I not only want to talk about the book, but also your approach to how you finished it.

[00:14:18] Adam Schreiner: Absolutely, yes. So the book, well, you know, it ended up taking a lot longer than it should have, for sure. But what other writers have told me is that it's completely normal, so that makes me feel a little better. but you know the book came to me when I just kept getting people would run into me that would either know so much I mean diabetes is just so it's everywhere now like there's so many people that that have it people are getting you know adults that are in their 40s are getting type 1 diabetes you know so I swear like at least if if someone doesn't have diabetes they know one or two people who do. And so I kept people who know me, the ones that know that I'm diabetic, because a lot of people don't. I don't necessarily, you know, I don't necessarily where, I mean, obviously, everybody will know I wrote an entire book on it. But before that, like, it wasn't something that I really, you know, just something I kind of kept to myself, not for any other reason than I just didn't want, you know, any, I didn't want it to be part of my identity as like, that, hey, that's Adam, he has diabetes, which a lot of people will do. There's many other things that I wanted to be known for and remembered by. So that was one of the reasons why I just kind of kept it to myself.

[00:15:36] Rob Howe: Well, let's pause there for a quick second because I was very similar and I actually explain it the same way. When I was younger, I didn't want to be known as a person who did something and had diabetes because I felt like it was almost like a pity card or that I wasn't good enough at that thing without the diabetes to be interesting enough to write a story about or to be talking about. And I think a lot of that was just my own projections on it and my own insecurities at the time. But, for example, I didn't want to be known as a diabetic basketball player. I wanted to be known as a basketball player. Basketball player, totally. And held on the merits of my accomplishments. And I think some of that is a little bit of just toxic masculinity seeping in and just insecurity of being young. but for sure something that I think a lot of people with diabetes will relate to.

[00:16:28] Adam Schreiner: Yeah, absolutely. It's just one of those things. So I kept, people would, when they would find out I was diabetic, they would, and how I was handling my diabetes, they would be like, oh, could you talk to my little cousin? He has diabetes. He's not doing very well. Or, you know, my sister, she just got diagnosed. I'd love for you to talk to her kind of about your approach because you You just, you know, you got it on lock. And, you know, sometimes, you know, perception, their perception of it isn't necessarily how it was. You know, I'm not perfect by any means. You know, I have random highs and lows just like any diabetic does. But, you know, my attitude on it compared to those that they were seen, they just, you know, would reach out to me for help. So that was one of the things that kind of inspired me to put something down on paper to potentially reach more people. And I know that you've said this before on your podcast. It kind of started out as if you can help one person, then it's worth it. And that's kind of like the same. And that is exactly how I feel. If one person reads my book and it really helps them, then awesome. Obviously, I want to help as many people as I can. but just helping one person, that was the first goal that I had there. And so when I wrote it, when I decided, okay, I'm going to do this, I'm going to write this down, and I'm going to sit down, and I'm just going to just barf on Microsoft Word, on everything that's in my brain. And I started my first draft of my book. It was not – because I actually came up with the title first. The title was something that was very important to me to get right, the title and the cover of the book. Because when I was diagnosed and when I first started getting involved in or being part of the diabetic community, I didn't want to. I didn't want to go to diabetic camp. I did and I had a great time there, but I didn't want to. I didn't want to read a little child's diabetic book. I didn't. I didn't. I had a lot of resistance to, you know, like accepting that this part of me, you know, this lifestyle change. And so when I came up with the book title and the cover, I wanted to come up with the title and cover that if my teenage self saw this, I'd be like, okay, I want to read that book. And so that's where I came with What a Prick and the little image of a middle finger, you know, with a blood drop on it. And, you know, because there's just so much, you know, when I started writing this book, I started to kind of reflect back on, you know, the emotions that I went through as a kid and the struggles and all that. and I just wanted to, I wanted to write this book for my teenage self, you know, like that was like, like a book that I felt would, would help that, you know, that person. And isn't that, isn't that a great place for a creative process to come from? Because when you really know who you're creating something for, and you know, when it's yourself, obviously, it just helps you when you're in those moments of like writer's block where you're like, okay, I can think of this person and what they

[00:19:48] Rob Howe: were going through and that's who I'm making this for. I mean, I think, I think for me a lot, we're not, we've now done 104 podcasts as of this recording. Nice. I've got the next 100 almost ready to go. And, you know, sometimes I'm like, it's hard. I don't want to go do the next thing, but then I think about who I'm, why I'm doing this and to help one person was my goal as well. a lot of synergies between you and I.

[00:20:16] Adam Schreiner: Yeah, for sure.

[00:20:17] Rob Howe: And as long as what I'm doing continues to do that, then I'll continue to do it. And I think that's really, somebody asked me recently, will you ever not do this anymore? And I said, you know, I'm not saying that I'll do it forever. I don't know what that is, but I think the spirit of it will be doing something forever. As long as it helps one person, I'll do it. If it doesn't, that would be a clear indicator that something has shifted or I'm doing something wrong or I need to change it. And I think I'll leave myself open for that. But yeah, I think for people and especially young people in their 20s trying to do good or trying to follow their passion and create things, there's a lot of bad advice as to how to write a book in five easy steps or how to get a podcast or a blog or a great Instagram or whatever XYZ thing you would want to accomplish. and it just takes that day in day out understanding of why you're doing it to overcome those valleys in a creative process that innately has a lot of doubt a lot of obstacles and a lot of hard just

[00:21:25] Adam Schreiner: sweat work vomiting on a word doc like you said yep yep exactly exactly you know the the basic you know idea of the book is and and obviously you know it starts out essentially three you know there's three major sections of the book. There's kind of like a little, um, autobiographical type part of my, my life, uh, things that I've gone through with diabetes, how I had, like I talk about that, that moment, that low point in my life, that change of perspective. And then, you know, the second part being what I did or, you know, not necessarily what I did, but what I came up with, to change that, to change that mindset, that destructive, you know, shitty thoughts that I had. And then finally the science kind of behind how this all works. Because like you said, I have a meditation business, so obviously meditation is a component of this. And I tell people, it's like, okay, look, if you don't, if meditation is like not your thing, and you're like, oh, I can't meditate. You know how many times I've heard I can't meditate with my business? It's like, you know, meditation is one of those things that is just so much easier than people even think. So I tell them, okay, don't call it meditation. Let's call it a mental exercise. And so, you know, I include these mental exercises in the book. And it's like, okay, look, if you don't want to close your eyes, I'm not asking you to, you know, close your eyes and put on your free-flowing robes and, you know, light the incense and dim the lights. and chant until you... Yeah, chant, exactly. We won't be doing any oming, although I have omed before, and it is pretty awesome, but that is not what we will be doing. So meditation is a major part of that, and then I kind of back up some of the stuff about meditation and why it is so important. A lot of people don't really even understand yet anyways the power of, or what meditation does on a physiological level to the brain. And so I kind of go into a little bit of that. But I think meditation is kind of like meditation right now, and not so much right now, but especially five years ago when I first started that business, meditation is like how people in the 20s would think of running. Like, oh, you mean in 2018 people run for exercise? like oh they're that's like something they're choosing to do um you know i feel like that is kind of you know now you know i think that's how it is kind of right now in the future you know meditation is going to be such a big part of everyday life that um you know to just be kind of similar to how people of the 20s would view how we treat running now um and and so that you That was the basic overview of the book. But you evaluate yourself as a diabetic, like mentally where you are, and then after that you go over the tools that will help kind of shape that identity to be a little more conducive to a better mental state. And then it all starts in the brain. So if you got your mind right, then the body will follow, and you can break any sort of negative thought patterns that you might have. You can build a better relationship with diabetes itself, deal with the ups and downs that come with it. It's just part of it. It is.

[00:25:08] Rob Howe: And I mean, I'm sitting here like raising the roof behind the mic because a lot of this stuff is exactly what I believe and I preach and I practice in my regular life. Without getting too much further down our own rabbit hole that we've dug here, let's talk about the book. Let's talk about What a Prick. First of all, like the persona and projection that you put out in the book, the voice is fun. It reads fast. And you talk a whole lot about the background and context around diabetes going in. So, I mean, it's clear that you understand not only the community, but you've been around other people with diabetes and sort of the lies and excuses that we tell ourselves along the way. But what can somebody who's picking up What a Prick expect from the book?

[00:25:53] Adam Schreiner: You know, it really is, first of all, and I say this, it's on the back cover, we are looking at the mind game. We're looking at, or the mind fuck is what I really like to call it because that's really what it is. And that is, you know, the part of diabetes, obviously diabetes is about watching your carbs, testing your blood sugar, exercising, doing all that. but the biggest component to all that in my opinion is making sure that your head is in the right place and getting your mind right. So you have to understand who you are as a diabetic and who you want to be. Someone like yourself, you seem to have a great grasp on who you are as a diabetic but there are a lot of people out there and I've already in the short time, I mean this book just released a couple weeks ago, Like I'm just, you're my first interview about the book. And, you know, like I'm just scratching the, you know, this is hopefully the first of many interviews that I'll do explaining this. But don't forget, we got the exclusive, everybody. Yeah, you heard it here first. If, you know, there are many people out there that don't really know how to identify with their diabetes. and you know some people a lot of people they play the victim role in it and you see it a lot in social media where people like to you know air out their dirty laundry and I see it all the time and it's just it's it like saddens me you know not to the level of like oh I feel bad for you but a level of like you're not you're just compounding your situation this is like kind of like if you have to um you know work a awful shift at work and there's always that i swear there's always that guy that's like just bitches the whole time that's like okay man we're here we're all here here this together this sucks the shift is awful but let's have a good attitude about it and let's just get through it and um you know it's so the the the sad part of it and the you know, the victimization part of it, that is something that I know a lot of diabetics face and it is, it only makes a shitty situation shittier. And so, you know, you have to realize who you are. Are you that person? You know, have you accepted your diabetes? First and foremost, have you accepted it? There's a lot of people that are just in straight up denial that they have to adjust their lifestyle. I know I've heard of, you know, and those are the horror stories that I don't really like to focus on. But those are those horror stories that you hear about where it's like that person is just straight up just won't accept the fact that they have this lifestyle that they have to adjust to. You know, another thing is do you use it for attention? Do you use your diabetes? I know there was actually, I talked about it in my book where there's this girl, she was a diabetic and I worked with her. And she actually like, I found out later on that she had actually intentionally went low because she had a crush on me and she knew that if she went low that I would know what to do and like how to help her because obviously you know I'm diabetic and so I know you know okay let's get some orange juice in this girl call 9-1-1 do that sort of thing um and I've used that you know I've used I've used it before for attention as well I'm not innocent by any means you got to understand who you are and then once you understand who you are then you can decide okay do you need to completely change it can you improve it um you know people who people who are sick they constantly reinforce that so like i mean i'm still guilty of it i catch myself doing it all the time if i get a cold what i what do i do all the time i sit there and i go oh my god i I feel terrible. I feel like shit. Oh, my head is killing me. And so before I turned 21 and I had this change of perspective, I would do that. I'm diseased. I have a disease. I have diabetes. I'm diabetic. I'm damned to life. I'm going to lose years off my life. All this stuff that you hear, I'd constantly play that back and over and over again in my head. and it wasn't until I realized that, okay, this is not helping anything. I have to change this. I have to change, you know, and it's just because the body, you know, the body has a mind of its own. You know, the body will, if it's feeling shitty, it's going to tell you that you're feeling shitty. It's, you know, it's an amazing thing how much the body can dictate your thoughts where it's like some people don't even realize that, no, you're literally letting your body tell your mind what to think instead of letting your mind be the one that's in control. So what I try and try to do the best I can, and people out there, if you're listening and you are coming down with a cold, just immediately start to tell yourself how much better you feel. And when you wake up, you know, oh, I feel great. I feel fantastic. You've got to fake it until you make it sort of deal here.

[00:31:20] Rob Howe: I got to call this out because I, my girlfriend laughs at me all the time. Whenever I'm starting to get sick, I always say sickness is a mindset. And I just laugh about it. And I'm like, oh yeah, I'm not sick. Sickness is a mindset. Sickness is a state of mind. And I just keep saying that until I don't get sick. And so I'm not sick because it's just like, you can, you can succumb to that. It's so weird. It's like, I wish I had, you know, and maybe you can offer a little bit more of the neurological response. but my college basketball coach would be like the mind is weak the body is strong and he would make us keep running and you know and because instantly you uh you can see people who are running and it's like the pain face my track coach used to call it the pain face and it's like if you have a pain face which looks like you're being bullied or like somebody's punching you or you're like you know stressed out uh and then you look at the guy who's winning the race and his face is like cheeks are bouncing up and down because he's not stressed at all. He's just running and he's solely focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Like Michael Johnson, go watch a slow motion, Michael Johnson race. The guy's face flies all over the place. Cause he's not a tense. He's so relaxed and just embracing it. And, uh, and because of that, he's able to cruise through it. And I think that's, that's just a, I'd love to know if there's any, you know, a more neurological perspective you can add to that because it's the power of the mind is not a joke, positive or negative. It works both ways. It's such an interesting dichotomy of, you know, whatever your choice is, whether it be positive, whether it be negative, that will happen. Yeah. You know, it's funny that you say positive or negative because literally the mind doesn't

[00:33:05] Adam Schreiner: care whether it's positive or negative. The mind is going to react to whatever thoughts you're feeding it. So if you're having negative thoughts, okay, here, I'm going to give negative results. If you have positive thoughts, okay, I'll give positive results. It literally does not matter what signals you're sending the brain that it will respond accordingly. there was this very interesting study and it was kind of it's included in the book but I'll just kind of give a quick little rundown that talks about the power of the mind and it's effect on the body and what this study did is it took piano players and it gave them three different groups a piano piece to play the first group physically practiced the piano piece for I think it was eight weeks or something. The second group, they mentally rehearsed the piano piece but did not physically practice at all. And the third group, they did nothing. Neither, you know, just didn't do anything. Right. The first group, so then they measured hand strength after the eight weeks. And the first group, you know, obviously had improved their hand strength by, I believe it was, I can't remember the exact number. let's just say for ease it was you know 10% improved their hand strength by 10% physically practicing the piano piece every day for eight weeks the second group that mentally rehearsed never actually physically played the piano piece actually improved their hand strength by 20% more than the group that physically had done it and they never actually lifted a finger at all and And not only that, but they actually were able to play the piece better than the people that had physically practiced. The third group that did nothing, obviously no changes there. But that just kind of shows you that what we put in our mind can physically affect the body. That was one of the kind of the premier sort of studies for me that opened my eyes like, oh, shit. okay, so there really is something going on with mental rehearsal and meditation and doing these mental exercises that can actually affect the body. So once I started seeing studies like this, and that's just one of a few that kind of opened my eyes to the importance of making sure that I'm sending the right signals to my body even when I'm not feeling the greatest or my blood sugar whacked out for whatever reason. so um you know that right there is a little sort of neurological study that that proves the power of what the brain can do to the body even without actually like physically doing anything it's incredible uh the human mind and human body are you know are just when they're working together

[00:36:11] Rob Howe: the things that they're uh able to do it just it's still every day i'm surprised yeah i mean I've only brushed the surface here too, you know, like it's, it's just amazing to me, um, what's coming out right now, uh, with the power of the brain and that 90% that they say that we're not using, you know? Right. And I think you mentioned it earlier, but it's like, we really don't know that much about our body, you know, in the last a hundred years, think about how far we've come and imagine where we'll go in the next 100. It's pretty, uh, it gives me a lot of hope, honestly, you know, shifting the conversation back to diabetes a bit. Uh, when I meet people with diabetes who have been living with it for like 40 or 50 years and they're doing great knowing what they had to go through 30 years ago just to you know eat eat normally and live a regular life and you know going from boiling needles and using cow insulin to now hybrid closed loop uh fda approved devices and cgms and uh hacked pumps and cgms that work together I mean, it's a great time to live with diabetes if there is such a thing. And it's only getting better.

[00:37:22] Adam Schreiner: So, you know, it gives me hope for that, that, you know, the physical and mental burden and strain that we've been carrying for a long time starting to lighten just a bit. Yeah, absolutely. The, you know, the real meat and potatoes, if you will, of the book is the mental rehearsal, mental exercises, meditations, call it whatever you want. It doesn't matter to me because as long as you're using, you know, the brain to fire these neurons of wellness and health, then you're going to be, you know, you're going to, the results are going to be the same. And so that's, you know, the big chunk of the book is that obviously that's my background. That's where I came from. That's how I went from feeling shitty all the time, you know, to feeling great all the time, having a much, much better control of my diabetes, you know. And so that's really the main part of it. And sometimes people do get hung up on the meditation. Not so much anymore. It's becoming more and more prevalent in almost everything. But in my opinion, you can't, not you can't, but you should have meditation as a part of your diabetes management. just based off of my own results of the experience I've had and all the positive things that have come from it. There's just really no other way to do it. And meditation, it's not the only thing. It's not like if you sit down for 20 minutes in the morning and you meditate on being healthy, and now you're in your meditation and it's like, oh, this is fucking awesome. I feel great. This is holy shit. Like my energy is flowing right now. I feel awesome. I feel so good. And then you get up and you start thinking, oh, God, I feel terrible. I do not feel good at all. What is up with my blood sugar? Oh, another high blood sugar. And you start reinforcing those thoughts again. You're just going to be spinning your wheels. You know, you really, it's a two-phase system, two-part system here where you sit down, you meditate, you close your eyes, is you go take your attention in or you focus on those positive thoughts, those good thoughts, and then you get up, and you get up as a person that holds on to those thoughts. And it's like kind of one of my things that I suggest is to have like a little reminder totem or whatever. Like they have the medical bracelets for obvious reasons that I know very few diabetics that actually wear those. but those people that do I'm always like well how about you put something on your wrist or neck that reinforces that you feel great and that you feel well and reaffirms those things as opposed to something that reaffirms that you are a diabetic how about you put something on there that says obviously I understand why for emergencies and stuff like that but you can put on there like type 1 working on it or type 1 in progress type 1 getting better or something like that, where it's like, I feel great, something like that, that reminds you, doesn't necessarily remind you that you are a diabetic, but you are someone who is healthy and who is well. I find a huge value in that for changing those day-to-day thoughts.

[00:40:55] Rob Howe: Yeah, and I think that's something that is just back to the idea of incremental progress, of there is no cure, obviously. There's no one thing that's going to fix it. It's just sort of that every day waking up and taking on the day and using whatever tools that you have at your disposal. And I think I'm excited to see the response from your book. I think it can be one of those tools. And like you said, just one person takes it and makes a difference in their lives. It makes a difference in their lives. It was worth it. So, you know, for all of us out here, you know, all struggling, all fighting, all thriving in spite of diabetes.

[00:41:39] Adam Schreiner: There we go. Yeah.

[00:41:41] Rob Howe: We, you know, I think using those resources and hearing from those different voices, you never know which voice is going to resonate the most with you.

[00:41:49] Adam Schreiner: Exactly.

[00:41:49] Rob Howe: You know, so I think I would encourage anybody who has been involved or is getting involved in the diabetes community to find the voice that helps you understand that you're not alone, that you're going to be okay and doesn't condemn you, but rather encourages you to keep searching, to keep going and to take it easy on yourself because what you're doing is hard. But how you do it makes you who you are.

[00:42:15] Adam Schreiner: Yeah, you know, and I want to speak to that. Take it easy on yourself part two. And that's, you know, as you said, the voice of the book, the title, the cover, everything, you know, it's intentionally done in a lighthearted manner. I think, you know, there's some quote out there. I have no idea who said it. But, you know, like the greatest things are achieved in a light heart. And I truly believe that is the case when it comes to diabetes management, which almost seems like paradoxical in a way. Because it's like in order for me to gain better, to feel better and to gain better control of my diabetes, I actually had to kind of let go of it a little bit. I had to just kind of let it be what it is as opposed to having this like stranglehold of always trying to have this control and, you know, being able to, you know, let my blood sugar. I just used to get so pissed off when things would happen like, you know, a pump malfunction or a, you know, the no delivery alert or whatever, you know, it just used to get me so frustrated. and once I like kind of just let go of that and was like all right I'm frustrated I understand that I'm frustrated right now but I'm not going to react to it how I normally do let's just keep light heart let's just take care of it there's no point in getting frustrated with it at all does nothing does nothing for me except for piss me off so let's just take care of it move on

[00:43:39] Rob Howe: totally yeah you just gotta keep moving that's the thing i think we're all gonna struggle we're all gonna have i spent the weekend uh we were recording this podcast after i spent the weekend in chicago with a ton of type 1 diabetics many of whom uh very active in the type 1 community and it was funny there was always an alarm going off there's always a low snack being eaten there was always carbs being counted and you know we just kept putting one foot in front of the other and it was cool to see. It makes it seem so much more normal, so much more safe, so much more accepted. So encourage everybody to keep that attitude and surround yourself with people who are going through the same things as you so you understand whether it's diabetes or not, so you understand that you're not alone. It could always be worse.

[00:44:25] Adam Schreiner: Yeah, you know, I did something that I didn't know whether with this book, and I didn't know how it was going to turn out for me, but it was the approach I decided to take. And I actually didn't have a single diabetic read the book before I released it. I only had a couple editors obviously read it, and a couple of my close people to me that aren't diabetic read it. And I did that intentionally because I didn't want, you know, this is like kind of my journey, my story, what I've done, and I really didn't want that to be tainted by, you know, because I didn't dive into a lot of the diabetic community until this came out. And I thought about it and I was like, you know, for like a book launch, maybe I should do that. And I decided not to. I just wanted to write this from my perspective. And a lot of people that read it, they said, you know, there's stuff in here that it's not, you know, not diabetic specific. Like there's some things in here that are just anybody who's going through, you know, any sort of health issue could relate to. You know, one of the premier things or major studies of the neurons in the brain is like neuroplasticity. And that's that, you know, your neurons are plastic. They used to think that they're changeable. They used to think that what, you know, by the time you were 32 or something, you would have, or 22, everything in your brain was solid. And those neurons are hardwired in. And what they found out is that you can actually change the neurons in the brain. What they say no longer fires together, wires together. So that's a big part of the book is that like, okay, so you got to stop firing these parts of the brain that say that you are sick and that you are ill. Because if you keep firing that stuff, then you're going to keep feeling that. And if you stop firing that enough, then eventually those synaptic connections actually will pull back and reconnect into a new hard wiring that is of wellness and health and all that. So really, really important to always maintain that state of mind of I'm well, I'm doing great, that sort of thing. Because on a neurological level, you are firing those neurons and you want to fire those good neurons, that good pattern, as much as you can. Because the brain is all about efficiency. It's going to fire in the way that it's fired the most. so if it's sitting there firing you know illness over and over and over and over again then it's going to continue to do so so you have to consciously pull you know watch those thoughts and fire the other ones so that those can hardwire in and the other synaptic connections jeez I cannot even say that word can you know prune away if you

[00:47:24] Rob Howe: will well and now we're really down the rabbit hole but I think like it speaks back to like habits how important habits are not just because you're checking things off your list or you're exercising or you're eating healthy or you're, you know, taking time out for mindfulness, your brain is also functioning. So, you know, your habits, even if they're negative thoughts, your brain sees them as habits. You may view them as like, oh, well, you know, this is who I am or what I think, but your brain is processing it differently because it doesn't understand positive or negative, just what happens. And, you know, that's so interesting. Uh, I loved what you said about what fires together, wires together, uh, and just reinforces that if you're not, if you're, you know, the things that are the piling up are piling up and becoming heavier and more entrenched because you're continuing to do them. Uh, and sometimes mindlessly, I think that's what, uh, for me, it was a big thing is like, I didn't realize how many things I just did because I didn't, wasn't even thinking about them. Didn't even really know what I was doing. It wasn't really present in doing them. And now it's like, okay, well, why am I doing this? Why am I on Facebook or Instagram for the 50th time today?

[00:48:33] Adam Schreiner: Right. How many times can I check it in an hour? Right. Yeah. You know, I, I just want to speak one more thing to the book and then we can, we can kind of get off that. Uh, but the, you know, there, when I went down this rabbit hole and I started doing all these crazy meditations and I'm telling you, I did some weird shit and I was, so I just did it with an open mind. I'm like, fuck it let's do it whatever okay you want to uh blind duct tape a blindfold to my face and send me into the woods to make my way around let's do it uh you know and I had some crazy experiences doing that and one thing you know that this book is about is kind of my what I took away from doing all these different like meditation schools of thought meditation retreats that sort of thing I met some people that had these miraculous healings, absolutely terminal type where they had tumors on their neck that had spread all the way down to their legs that had done meditation techniques and different techniques. that, you know, and this is definitely the alternative health approach here, but they had done these different techniques because their back was against the wall. They're like, well, I could either do chemo or, you know, die or try this. So I'm going to try this. And I, you know, they said that they had, they went back to the doctor, you know, they woke up one day and their tumors were gone. And, you know, the, the science behind that, you know, cause science, what science calls miracle healings is called a spontaneous remission. And there are many accounts of spontaneous remissions. And so you can, you know, dive deeper into that. And I think that based off of the amount of spontaneous remissions scientifically proven, well, I say proven, but they're called a spontaneous remission because they have no idea why the person healed themselves or were healed. But I truly believe that the brain is completely capable of healing anything in the body, chronic conditions such as diabetes. You know, I'm sitting here, I'm so diabetic, I've healed myself, but I refuse to believe that, you know, that diabetes is the exception when people who were told that they could never walk again, walk again. Or someone who has had a stroke and says that you can never speak again, can speak again. They don't have different brains than we do. We all have the same brain. So why not us? Why can't diabetics cure their diabetes themselves? Um, you know, as the controversial topic of, of the cost of diabetes, you know, it's, it is something that you have to consider when you talk about a cure. I mean, think about the economic consequences of, of, of a cure. And I don't want to necessarily speak to that too much because that's a whole other topic in and of itself. But, you know, it's something that you kind of have to consider like, okay, and what can I do myself, you know, 10, like you said, 10 minutes in the morning that maybe, maybe not, you know, could potentially change the brain to

[00:51:47] Rob Howe: spontaneously remiss, I guess. Well, and I think too, looking at it, it's easy to get overwhelmed with what ifs and hypotheticals about cures. I think both from a, well, I can't wait till I'm cured and like hanging on to that hope or to in the reverse, like, well, what are the obstacles to being cured? And what are the economic implications? And who are the stakeholders who are preventing things from happening? And you can find yourself like overwhelmed by thoughts in terms of things that you have no control over when, you know, what we really need to, and I think our best, best served by doing is being very present in our day-to-day life, recognizing that there is no immortality, that entire civilizations are one line in a history book. And if we don't enjoy our day, our week, our month, our year that we have with the people that are closest to us, then, you know, we missed the point. And, you know, I think that was, that's something that, I think for me personally, the athlete mindset of be number one, always win, hang banners in the rafters is something that I had thought for a long time and had to be the best, had to work the hardest, had to make the most money. And then I was like, okay, well, wait a minute. I'm just one little speck on this tiny little planet in this tiny little galaxy in this big-ass universe. and if I don't love my family and my friends and you know enjoy the sun on my face then I'm gonna be really miserable down the road yeah absolutely so um Adam you and I have covered a wealth of

[00:53:38] Adam Schreiner: topics and I think we could probably continue to do so for another couple hours yeah most likely for sure and I'd love to do that again in the future actually uh separate from just this initial conversation, some sort of diabetes and mindfulness, you know, forum of some kind, because I think I'd love to continue to pick your brain and find out more about it. But I want to save that. Because this episode, we're promoting the book, Where Can We Get What a Prick by Adam Schreiner? Amazon is where you will want to get that. I published them, they're kind of perfect for self-publishing. They didn't deny my cover with a middle finger on it. So I was like, all right, you're good. You're good. You're good by me. Penguin books might've like pushed back on that or something. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly. Actually, I started a podcast as well, which ended up turning into something that it's called the Prick Podcast. I initially started at the beginning of this year as a kind of like a pre, you know, like when you read about, okay, what do you need to do to launch a book like start a podcast so i did that and the next thing i know like i have like this like following of people where it's like oh oh okay i guess i'm doing i'm a podcaster now um so that's the going that's the prick podcast it's you know we talk about diabetes somewhat but it's with a good buddy of mine he's he's a musician and and so we do music reviews and kind of just have fun very very light-hearted we do talk about diabetes stuff kind of you know poke fun at certain things so if you get offended easily it has a very similar vibe of the book um and uh you know it's um but yeah i guess my point being is that i started this to launch the book and when i put the um i used the same cover for my podcast and itunes was like offensive material you know rejected and i was like okay all right itunes relax here we go i'll Just make it just, you know, I'll make sure you can't tell it's the middle finger. Anyway, Amazon is where you can get the book. It's $9.99 for the e-book, or if you're on that Kindle Unlimited plan, you get just part of that. Or $13.99, excuse me, for the printed copy. Save a tree and just get the e-book. Nice.

[00:55:58] Rob Howe: Well, we will include a link to the book in the show notes. And as well, shout out the Prick Podcast. that's looking forward to diving. Yeah, we're going to have to have you on there.

[00:56:08] Adam Schreiner: I mean, we have guests on there, but I'm always a little nervous because my buddy and I, when we get together, we've been good friends for a long time that we just kind of get out of hand sometimes. But, you know, love to have you on and actually maybe you could kind of reel us in a little bit and keep it a little more diabetic focus. Sometimes it gets away from us pretty quick. Well, I wouldn't want to ruin the charm of the show.

[00:56:30] Rob Howe: So just, hey, send me that invite. I'm down. That'll be, it sounds like a good time. sounds good man alright where else can this is your last plug where do we find you on social media if we want to follow you ok so let's do this

[00:56:43] Adam Schreiner: let's do the social media gauntlet I'm at whataprick on twitter and at whataprick on facebook I think that's how you do it my social media game is so weak it's so sad and my buddy makes fun of me all the time like he told me I should have been on instagram like years ago and I just did it like a couple weeks ago i actually looked you up and you have like 17 you have like thousands of instagram followers and i'm like i don't how would the how does one even i don't even get it like you know i don't you're just like a little mini celebrity in the in the diabetic community i get and but um i'm at my instagram that has a whole 14 followers is uh what a dot prick and um because what a prick was already taken by some like cactus company which i respect that that's fair that's fair I see it and get it and uh and yeah and then you can check out my website whataprick.com I have some actually meditation recordings on there you'll definitely want to read the book first uh you don't need the recordings for it for the uh you know for the because I have the transcripts in the book but you know when you're first getting into meditation I highly suggest that you have a guided meditation it just kind of takes the pressure off of trying to remember and just listening to someone. So if you like the sound of my voice, then you can go to the website and get some of those meditations as well. Perfect. All right, my friend. Well, thank you so much again for coming on and looking forward

[00:58:15] Rob Howe: to seeing the response both from this episode and from the book. Thanks, Rob. I really appreciate it, man.

[00:58:22] Adam Schreiner: This podcast is sponsored by Health IQ. And if you don't remember Health IQ from the previous

[00:58:27] Rob Howe: episodes that they've sponsored, Health IQ is an insurance company on a mission to improve the world's health by rewarding runners, cyclists, weightlifters, swimmers, yogis, well-managed diabetics, and other Americans living a healthy lifestyle. They're actually the first insurance company rewarding patients with type 2 diabetes who manage their A1C with a healthy diet and exercise, with large savings on their life insurance. To support the show and get a free quote, go to healthiq.com slash DDT.