Canadian clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson has been in the international spotlight since 2016 after he criticised national legislation obliging the use of…
Jordan Peterson and his daughter Mikhaila have opened up about the psychologist’s “suicidal” health struggles caused by his physical dependency on prescribed drug benzodiazepine during a Zoom interview with The Sunday Times. The pair also discussed the professor’s schizophrenia diagnosis by Toronto doctors. Peterson was prescribed “a really low dose of benzodiazepine” in Mikhaila’s words back in 2016 after his autoimmune condition triggered a severe response to food that left him in unable to sleep. Few years later, the dosage was increased as his wife of 30 years Tammy was diagnosed with a rare and nearly incurable kidney cancer. According to the professor, his rise to fame and controversy surrounding his persona only made things worse. Peterson said this period of his life was “extraordinarily stressful.” He also argued that as a clinical psychologist he was “not interested in generating controversy” – instead he was trying “to help people [understand] that they need a profound meaning in their life because their lives are difficult.” Meanwhile, his family issues, prescription drug use, and attempts to go clean aggravated matters – Peterson was then struck down with a movement disorder called akathisia typically linked to benzodiazepine withdrawal.
