Jordan Peterson's year of 'absolute hell': Professor forced to retreat....

[[id...]]

Can I suggest that as many ppl as possible o me t on articles and under the Youtube video. A lot of ppl will watch the YT video and it is a good place to make it clear this is not rare and how severe it can be.

 

That's a great idea, Ajusta!

[[...]]

I agree with you, FloridaGuy. I cannot imagine being in a foreign country during the worst of my benzo withdrawal. I did spend a week in an ICU, though. They kept me hooked up to monitors while I was having akathisia -- it was torture. They ended up giving benzos and z-drugs to me in the ICU (to keep me still for MRIs and stuff). So yeah, being in a hospital for a benzo withdrawal is a BAD idea.

 

I respect JP and his family for bravely going public with this.

 

One thing JP has going for him that a lot of us don't have is a big pile of money that probably allows him the ability to avoid a lot of stress and discomfort that many of us would have to face in similar circumstances. Flying to Russia might not be so bad if you have the ability to charter a private jet 

 

When you’re rolling around at 2 a.m. in sheets wet from sweat with horrific thoughts ripping through your head, no amount of money helps. He can take time off work, true, but I bet he feels a ton of pressure career-wise. I know I do, and I don’t have 2 million YouTube subscribers waiting to see my next work.

[[id...]]

My guess is that JP and his family thought that going into a rehabilitation centre (which he did at the beginning) would have solved the issue quickly. It just seems to me that no one did any research into what can go on with benzos. Trying to get off a benzo quickly while being monitored day and night puts a lot of pressure on someone to get well fast. As we all know, that's not what happens in all cases. Some people need to take months to get off these meds, and if people are being constantly given other drugs to try to counteract each and every symptom, then perhaps that's why JP ended up going from one centre to another, searching for yet a better solution -- one that would somehow make him feel better fast.

 

A hospital is the last place I'd want to be.

 

Yes, once I learned about him going into the rehab I told my friend: "More stories to come, you'll see. It'll get much worse from here on." My friend was wondering why I was saying that. Experience, experience. Something I wish I didn't have but I do.

[[id...]]

I agree with you, FloridaGuy. I cannot imagine being in a foreign country during the worst of my benzo withdrawal. I did spend a week in an ICU, though. They kept me hooked up to monitors while I was having akathisia -- it was torture. They ended up giving benzos and z-drugs to me in the ICU (to keep me still for MRIs and stuff). So yeah, being in a hospital for a benzo withdrawal is a BAD idea.

 

I respect JP and his family for bravely going public with this.

 

One thing JP has going for him that a lot of us don't have is a big pile of money that probably allows him the ability to avoid a lot of stress and discomfort that many of us would have to face in similar circumstances. Flying to Russia might not be so bad if you have the ability to charter a private jet 

 

When you’re rolling around at 2 a.m. in sheets wet from sweat with horrific thoughts ripping through your head, no amount of money helps. He can take time off work, true, but I bet he feels a ton of pressure career-wise. I know I do, and I don’t have 2 million YouTube subscribers waiting to see my next work.

 

That's very true too. His daughter said he wasn't able to sit up, walk or type for a while. No amount of money can restore your GABA receptors quickly.

[[...]]

My hope is that they don’t color this as a one-off rare reaction. I’m not optimistic.

[[Ho...]]

Praying God raises him up and uses him to educate millions about the dangers of this drug.

[[Fl...]]

Trying to get off a benzo quickly while being monitored day and night puts a lot of pressure on someone to get well fast.

 

Being a rapidly rising star in a world where fame and fortune is fast and fleeting I am sure is putting ENORMOUS pressure on him. He knows that his window to capitalize on his fame could be very short and I would bet that this has played a major role in deciding how he is going to handle his situation.

[[id...]]

Trying to get off a benzo quickly while being monitored day and night puts a lot of pressure on someone to get well fast.

 

Being a rapidly rising star in a world where fame and fortune is fast and fleeting I am sure is putting ENORMOUS pressure on him. He knows that his window to capitalize on his fame could be very short and I would bet that this has played a major role in deciding how he is going to handle his situation.

 

Also, imagine going through the benzo wd publicly, with paparazzi trying to snap a picture of you being at your worst and then calling it "addiction struggles."

 

[[id...]]

Also, he is a psychologist, an expert psychologist, so how he's handling it is supposed to be an example of his professional expertise...

[[Fl...]]

When you’re rolling around at 2 a.m. in sheets wet from sweat with horrific thoughts ripping through your head, no amount of money helps. He can take time off work, true, but I bet he feels a ton of pressure career-wise. I know I do, and I don’t have 2 million YouTube subscribers waiting to see my next work.

 

Of course, but having the money to create a comfortable environment for yourself is just about the only thing that anyone can do to make the situation just a little more bearable so I don't think we should underestimate the benefits of that.

 

The career pressure is a separate issue. He might have the money to avoid a lot of every day stress but I am sure that he is under enormous pressure to heal from other angles. He probably has a bunch of contracts he is unable to fulfill now. Not to mention the fact that he knows that he has to strike while the iron is hot or risk fading into obscurity.

[[Fl...]]

Also, imagine going through the benzo wd publicly, with paparazzi trying to snap a picture of you being at your worst and then calling it "addiction struggles."

 

Also, he is a psychologist, an expert psychologist, so how he's handling it is supposed to be an example of his professional expertise...

 

Very good points. He might have a lot of money but in other ways I don't envy his position at all. I'm sure he has stuff flying at him from all angles career wise and everything is compounded now with this benzo nightmare.

[[La...]]

Trying to get off a benzo quickly while being monitored day and night puts a lot of pressure on someone to get well fast.

 

Being a rapidly rising star in a world where fame and fortune is fast and fleeting I am sure is putting ENORMOUS pressure on him. He knows that his window to capitalize on his fame could be very short and I would bet that this has played a major role in deciding how he is going to handle his situation.

 

Also, imagine going through the benzo wd publicly, with paparazzi trying to snap a picture of you being at your worst and then calling it "addiction struggles."

 

Yes, waaaaay too much pressure, I think.

[[Aj...]]

Please use this as an opportunity to tell your own stories to a wider audience and make sure it is clear slow tapers are best for most ppl. He has 2.5 million followers on YouTube. That is a good place to tell our stories underneath his.

I think saying this is ‘rare’ and that he had to go to Russia for medical detox will mean more ppl will be pulled off inappropriately with catastrophic consequences.

[[La...]]

I can imagine that one of the points of conversation -- perhaps in the media -- might be why a psychologist would need to take psychiatric medications. There's probably a higher expectation for people in the fields of psychology and psychiatry to be mentally healthier than other people and to not have issues with these types of meds. There's obviously a conversation to be had about how vulnerable we all  are and how we all have mental health needs.

 

I really feel so badly for him. If he asked for assistance and didn't get appropriate information from the beginning, then it might be why he ended up on this awful path. I really hope he does speak to people directly in the next video so that we can hear things first-hand.

 

I wonder where he sought help -- family doctor, psychiatrist, online, here in Canada or in the U.S., etc.? What drew him to the various places in North America where he went in-patient? What happened to him there? What did they tell him?

 

So many questions.

[[Ho...]]

No, he took it because his wife was Suffering and dying from Cancer.  She's still alive but had kidney removed and all kinds of hell that he has had to endure. 

 

   

[[La...]]

No, he took it because his wife was Suffering and dying from Cancer.  She's still alive but had kidney removed and all kinds of hell that he has had to endure. 

 

 

 

Apparently, he was on the benzo before that. Here's a quotation from the CBC article I posted earlier today:

 

The 57-year-old professor has been out of the public eye since September, when it was first disclosed by his daughter that he was seeking treatment for his dependence on clonazepam, a benzodiazepine tranquilizer that is often prescribed to patients with panic issues.

 

His family says he had been taking the drug for years to mitigate lingering anxiety following a severe autoimmune reaction to food. His dependence reportedly started last spring after doctors increased his dosage to help him cope with stress as his wife Tammy battled kidney cancer.

[[Ma...]]

JP was a big deal to me these past few years. I bought his book on iTunes even. I wouldn't call him a hero but close, sort of like a father figure. He's an amazing thinker and teacher and I respect the shit out of him. For some reason I have a really bad feeling about this. He's just been through a lot these past few years. Plus he's a freaky deep thinker. This must be a nightmare for him. His mind is probably wrapped in a gordian knot right now wondering what will happen to him. A benzo wd experience that may rival most as far as how bad it can get simply because he is so brilliant, in the public eye, his wife's diagnosis, what those brain butchers at the hospital did to him, etc. Money isn't going to help much. He should use that money to get NAD+ infusions or anything that may help since he can afford too before his WD gets worse.

[[Ho...]]

Yes, Mamoot,

 

    My heart goes out to him and his family and prayers.

[[50...]]

it seems like every is missing the point here: they put him in a medically induced coma for 8 days. something they would have never done in the US or Canada.

 

medically induced comas are the only way for the body to direct all resources to restoring affected organs in dire situations

[Guest [Bn...]]

Dre,

 

You are right, the reasons were medical.

 

B

[[La...]]

I read that it was done because of pneumonia, which he acquired in one of the hospitals in North America.

 

Here's the quotation from the CBC article:

 

"He's improving, and is off the horrible medication. His sense of humour is back. He's smiling again for the first time in months," she said.

 

However, there are indications that Peterson may still have significant challenges to overcome.

 

The National Post, which regularly publishes Peterson's opinion columns — the latest one last November — reports that the professor spent eight days in a medically induced coma in Moscow in an effort to fight off his lung infection.

 

He has suffered neurological damage, and cannot type or walk unaided, at present, the paper says.

[[Aj...]]

Given infections are common in WD it may be related. I am aware of someone who is on ventilator due to stroke caused by UTI after rapid benzo withdrawal.

[[Aj...]]

Hit  U.K. Papers:

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/jordan-peterson-drug-addiction-benzo-valium-xanex-russia-mikhaila-a9324871.html

[[id...]]

it seems like every is missing the point here: they put him in a medically induced coma for 8 days. something they would have never done in the US or Canada.

 

medically induced comas are the only way for the body to direct all resources to restoring affected organs in dire situations

 

I wonder if the medically induced coma helped or did more damage. There were a lot of discussions about medically induced comas as a way to treat benzo wd here on benzo buddies and the conclusion was that using high doses of barbiturates and other GABA drugs (that are used to medically induce a coma) would actually make the withdrawal worse. I would like to read more about it, though.

[[id...]]

Hit  U.K. Papers:

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/jordan-peterson-drug-addiction-benzo-valium-xanex-russia-mikhaila-a9324871.html

 

Yikes.

 

Clearly, Independent doesn't like him.

 

"“emergency” drug detox" (as if it wasn't an emergency)

 

"getting hooked on highly addictive psychoactive anti-anxiety drugs"

 

"his spiralling addiction to benzodiazepines"