Jordan Peterson described in a new interview his diagnosis of schizophrenia before a spiral of drug and suicidal thoughts – and then undergoing a controversial Russian treatment that he kept in an induced coma for eight days.
The controversial Canadian psychology professor, who has spent much of her career railing against political correctness, spoke to the Sunday Times about her downward spiral with her podcast host daughter, Mikhaila Peterson.
“I don’t remember anything. From 16 December 2019 to 5 February 2020, “the self-help author said that he was sent to Russia for treatment.” I don’t remember anything, “Peterson told the British newspaper.
Peterson gained international fame for destroying academic “safe spaces” and feminism, as well as refusing to use the favorite pronouns of transgender people.
He approved the international bestseller, “12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos” in 2018, but struggled with an addiction to benzodiazepines after a violent reaction to a strict meat and greens diet.
Mikhaila, 28, her Russian husband and Peterson began the diet in 2016, but the three had a violent “sodium metabisulphite reaction”. “It was really terrible – but it hit him the hardest,” Mikhaila told the Times. He said, “He could not stand without blacking out. This was the impending sense of doom. He was not sleeping. “
Peterson has previously claimed that he did not sleep for 25 days during this time, but the longest period of human sleep that has ever been recorded is only 11 days, the paper notes.
He was prescribed low doses of antidepressants, which helped him recover, but the dose was increased after Peterson’s diagnosis of his wife Tammy’s cancer.
“And things just fell apart with Tammy. Every day was life and death and crisis for five months, ”Peterson told the paper. “Doctors said, ‘Well, he has contracted this cancer which is very rare, there is almost no literature on it, and the one-year mortality rate is 100 percent.’ So many nights were spent sleeping on the floor in an emergency, and because of frequent surgical complications … so I took benzodiazepines. “
Tammy Roberts recovered from complications with kidney surgery, but Peterson’s drug dependence worsened.
“Dad started being super-weird. It manifested as extreme anxiety, and suicidalness, “Mikhaila, who the Times reported” seems to have full charge of his affairs, “said.
Before examining himself in the New York Rehab in 2019, he went to a Toronto clinic for political-correctness-reform, where he was reportedly taken benzodiazepines and prescribed ketamine.
He was diagnosed with schizophrenia around this time.
“Well, I went to the best treatment clinic in North America. And everything they did made it worse. So we were out of options, ”Peterson told the Times about the decision to undergo a controversial treatment in Moscow.
“I placed myself in the hands of the medical profession. And the result was that I was going to die. So it wasn’t [the evidence from Moscow] Was compelling. It was that we were out of other options. “
In Russia, Peterson was intubated for unplanned pneumonia and given propofol to keep him in a coma for more than a week, while medics approved his system of medications.
According to the report, Peterson had lost a large part of his memory as well as the ability to walk when he went out of treatment.
“He was catatonic. Really, very bad. And then he was shocked,” his daughter told the paper.
After making some progress, Peterson was moved to Florida in February, where his pain and suicidal thoughts returned.
Mikhaila admitted his father to a private hospital in Belgrade, Serbia, where he was diagnosed with Akathisia – a state of restlessness associated with Benzo’s return.
Peterson, who contracted coronovirus during his time abroad, returned home from Canada to overcome Akathia. He told the Sunday Times that his mental health was impacted by his book’s publisher’s staff being labeled as “symbols of white supremacy and indecent language”.
“I was at the center of this incredible controversy, and around me were frequent journalists, and students were performing. It is really emotionally difficult to be attacked in public. And this happened to me continuously for three years.
“I was worried for my family. I was concerned for my reputation. I was worried for my business. And other things were happening. The Canadian equivalent of the Inland Revenue Service was after me, pitying my life, for some they admitted that three months later was a mistake, but they were just torturing me to death. “
When asked about the irony of turning to drugs after telling his followers that life was about to suffer from pain and suffering, the writer gave up.
“No, I never said that. See, if you are a viable doctor, you encourage people to take psychoactive drugs when appropriate. I really encourage people to understand that your sufferings It’s not useful to allow someone to make you angry. And, trust me, I was very tempted to be angry about what has happened to me in the last two years, “Peterson told the paper.
During the ordeal, Peterson wrote the sequel to his best-selling book, “Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life”. It is expected to be published in the spring.
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