July 2, 2020

Mikhaila Peterson interviews her father, Jordan Peterson, about his drug dependency problem.



ADDED: Peterson explains the elaborate reason he went to Moscow for drug treatment. By the way, I wonder if he named his daughter after Mikhail Gorbachev, who led the Soviet Union when Mikhaila was born.

47 comments:

Expat(ish) said...

I did not watch the video, but the screencap on the post makes it look like his daughter is wearing a VERY low cut dress ... to interview her dad.

That would make me very uncomfortable, as a dad.

-XC

traditionalguy said...

It was Valium. Big Pharma’s original mass marketed addiction Drug and Cash cow. When will the ever learn.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Watched the whole thing. Benzos are very bad news.

Not sure I would go to Russia for treatment! Exactly what treatment he received and is receiving is left vague.

Peterson's fragility is evident. For a culture warrior, it's shocking.

Oso Negro said...

She's a hottie! And flaunts it in a way most unbecoming to the gravity of higher education.

Francisco D said...

Expat(ish) said...I did not watch the video, but the screencap on the post makes it look like his daughter is wearing a VERY low cut dress ... to interview her dad.

That was the first thing I noticed, but my internal reaction was that I am a dirty old man.

Carol said...

trad guy how do you know it was valium.

The CCs are hilarious. It keeps showing "apathetic" for "akathisia."

I see autocorrect doesn't know the word either.

madAsHell said...

Who the hell doesn't have vices and addictions they'd like to abandon?

Jupiter said...

Wow. Note to self. No benzodiazepines.

Howard said...

Benzodiazapine. Watched a bit of it. Sad story, but it sounds like his wife is out of the terminal cancer woods. He's aged quite a bit. I hope he can get straightened out.

Marcus Carman said...

JP always came across as somewhat fragile and the interview confirms that. He does have a great mind and a devoted family That makes him more interesting than 99% of the folks out there.

The Crack Emcee said...

I listened to a Jordan Peterson lecture on the Gulags last night and found it confusing how he could be so in-tune with the concept of a people with their history hidden from them, and all the horrors that unleashed, and still side with those opposing blacks who are upset over that very crime in the US.

Carol said...

LOL "Caesar risk" for "seizure risk"!

Joe Smith said...

He looks very thin and a bit frail...even his voice has changed. This seems to happen to everyone who either gets sick or just hits a certain age number, they seem to be 'old' overnight.

Jupiter said...

Crackster, if your history has been hidden from you, why do you want reparations for it?

traditionalguy said...

Valium is the original Benzo drug. Once its patent expired the Pharma guys have made small variants to garner new patents, such as Xanax. But it’s still Valium. Addictive as hell.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Maybe Jordan should try an all goat diet.

Craig Howard said...

and still side with those opposing blacks who are upset over that very crime in the US

Because blacks have never had their history hidden from them -- that's starting now, however.

buwaya said...

Black people in the US were always free to publish their history, the free ones even before the ending of slavery. And from what I have seen, they have done so, at great length and with every sort of elaboration, for the last 170 years.

These days apparently they learn nothing but that. Its a horrible crime that a knowledge of the whole world is actively suppressed, in order to drill a victim narrative ever more deeply into young brains, in order to leave nothing but that.

The Soviet Union suppressed discussion of the Gulag, and nearly everything else in Russian history, until its collapse.

Geoff Matthews said...

Crack
It's ironic that as formal racism against African Americans has decreased, their complaints have increased.
Racism is being defined downwards. It wasn't racism that got Rayshard Brooks shot (he attacked police officers). It wasn't racism that lead to George Floyd's death (it was Fentanyl).

Narr said...

I've never heard of Benzodiazapine, and skipped through the interview hoping for something meaty. I guess I won't be taking any of those if I can help it.

Russian and Serbian medical establishments are probably to be preferred for some types of problems; they haven't been infected by the nonsense political posturings of the AMA and equivalents in the former West.

Narr
She's a cutie fer shure

Narr said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Narr said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
John Holland said...

Carol: "Valium" is Hoffman-La Roche's trademark name for benzodiazepine.

madAsHell: who said anything about vices and addictions? Why put "vice" alongside "addiction"?

Crack: could you please direct me to information showing Peterson siding with those opposing blacks who are upset over the hiding of their own history? On this particular issue, Google is not my friend. (Probably not my friend for a lot of reasons, but that's another story.)

Carol said...

Well *I* listened to it all. I'm sure this episode "discredits" any advice he gives, with some people, but seems like he is in a better place to actually treat and advise patients who are going through benzo addictions than he was before.

I suspect much of the crazy over the top behavior and depression we see stems from years of drug use, licit or otherwise. The brains adjusts to all the interventions and things just get worse.

Tomcc said...

Not particularly interested, so I won't watch. Addiction is one hellacious problem. Also, he's wearing a suit and she's wearing a... cocktail dress?

c365 said...

His daughter has had so many crippling health issues that you'd wonder if there's something wrong with the family. JP is very much aware of people who act immature and his daughter certainly dresses in a way that shows lack of maturity -- however the severe depression and physical problems she's had probably has inspired him to bite his tongue. He fully understands what's going on with why she dresses that way (playing to the audience, but probably also delighting in the fact that she's no longer physically and mentally miserable).

The thing about all of this is JP is someone I highly respect and listen to. But at the same time, I have no idea what to believe. It's far too easy to manipulate things and he's far too intelligent and aware of how it can be done. (it would be great to "go to Russia" to get treatment because no one knows what you're doing there and there's no evidence)

But all that said, I'm also willing to take him at his word about what happened.

Kansas Scout said...

I was on Klonopin for about 4 years. Low dose. Quit with no problem. I'm sure there are ignorant empathy deficit people who thinks this discredits JP's ideas but it does not. If my wife was on the edge of death for that long I'd go back on Klonopin in a heartbeat. Others may well use alcohol. My first wife was on deaths door for two months and it just breaks you down. I really appreciate JP as I share in Jungian ideas. His books are brilliant. I don't understand why anyone would question his story but alas cynicism abounds. My own studies in psychology and counseling and a vast reading in history led me to conclude we are all flawed in some measure. Some flaws are more visible than others. Many hero's are sociopaths. Some are seen as normal but may well be isolated narcissists. I was told by the base Psychiatrist in the Army that most officers were alcoholic and psychotic. Then there are gentle souls who suffer.

The Crack Emcee said...

Josephus Daniels, a prominent Democrat who later served as Secretary of the Navy, gained control of the News & Observer in the 1890s. He used the paper to promote white supremacist ideals.

He and his publication are cited in a government-sanctioned report as being directly involved in the Wilmington Massacre of 1898. That is an event in North Carolina history noted by historians as a major turning point in Reconstruction but often left out of mainstream history classes.

The event was reported at the time as a race riot but later revealed for what it was: a violent a coup d'état organized by white supremacists. White supremacists from across the state descended on Wilmington, killing black people and ultimately overthrowing a duly elected government.

A report commissioned in 2000 by the North Carolina state legislature, and not finished until 2006, identified Daniels as a main cause of the massacre


The Crack Emcee said...

I can't answer all of these right now, but it's fascinating how you guys can KNOW blacks got no education for almost 300 years, and then poor educations after that, but you expect us to have a complete record of our history in this nation, as YOU ALSO KNOW whites were actively hiding it.

The fact that the people with the most responsibility for this situation, and the most in the way of obligations and resources, always expect those with the least, to do the heavy lifting of democracy in this country, is stupefying.

David53 said...

He wasn’t taking Valium, but yes all benzodiazepines are essentially the same. They tried to switch him over to Valium which didn’t work. She talks about that and the Ashton protocol around the 16 minute mark. He had some uncommon reactions.

I’ve been dependent on diazepam for over 10 years. My dosage hasn’t changed in five years but if I don’t take them things gets very bad. As Mikhaila stated, “Most people who take them stay on them for life and that could do with the fact that they are very hard to get off of.” Yes.

That was a good video for me, thanks Althouse!

Francisco D said...

I used to take clonazepam (Klonopin) to sleep after Ambien and many other hypnotics stopped working. A friend who happened to be a psychiatrist started me out on Halcyon and it went on from there. At the end, my dosage level was relatively high (1-2 mg clonazepam).

A few years ago, I retired and had the time for a sleep study. They found I had severe sleep apnea. I now have a C-Pap machine and sleep far better than I did on benzos. I have not taken anything to sleep for over two years, not even over the counter stuff.

I have not noticed any significant withdrawal issues. My wife believes that my mood has improved. Ironically I feel groggier in the morning after sleeping well. Now I am much more into coffee as my drug of choice.


Wince said...

VA, VA, VA, VOOOM!

A Voice of Reason said...

Peterson is a great man and a great mind. The gods do seem to punish those folks for burning so bright. The erudite essays that make up 12 Rules For Life are impossibly wise and wonderfully written. My life has been greatly enriched for having discovered his videos and books. Godspeed, Jordan and family.

Howard said...

You shoulda got the C-pap schmere sooner Francisco. I thought you were some sort of PhD wizard and would have knowed that your chronic schnoring was due to gravity and a swolled up glottal flap. Take a pill mentality is toxic and lazy. Maybe those extra 25-elbows aren't helping.

Blair said...

Her dress is a fairly normal dress. She's an attractive woman, and it flatters her figure. If being attracted to pretty women bothers you, keep it to yourself, but it's not "low cut". She shouldn't have to hide the fact that she's a woman and has breasts for your prudish benefit.

Perhaps focus on the content of the video? Her face is up here.

A Voice of Reason said...

Hey Crack, how about quit feeling sorry for yourself? If you're 5' tall and can't dunk, give up on being a power Forward and pick another sport. Don't curse the NBA. Use what you have. Play the hand you were dealt. That's all any of us do, just some play it better than others.

rcocean said...

I just can't listen to Petersen, he just rambles too much and he does't seem precise enough in his statements. Too vague, which leads me to wonder if he's telling the truth or not.

rcocean said...

As for his ideas being invalidated by his drug use. Well, it depends. some people fall into drug use. They have a injury or an illness and they get hooked on pain pills for example. Or they have a big emotional crisis and need a crutch and get hooked. But if you're pushing some wacky ideas while on drugs, maybe its the drugs talking.

rcocean said...

The only I find interesting about him, is why so many think he's a great man with a great mind. They say it a lot, but can't seem to back it up. He seems to push some people's emotional buttons.

ndspinelli said...

A courageous video. I've dealt w/ people who have gone through withdrawal and dependence. I've seen this man speak many times. He has the narcissistic character that is needed to get through withdrawal. He was a much better listener before this. He interrupts often in this hour. The narcissism can decrease over time. They both exhibit the characteristic of trauma. Replaying it over and over. There are treatments that can help some. I overcame PTSD from a shooting incident using EMDR, now approved by the VA to help veterans.

Finally, those upset w/ his daughters garb, go shit in your hat! This woman went through hell helping her old man and she could have done the interview in a clown suit or nude. The pettiness of people can be mind boggling.

Sprezzatura said...

I can summarize for folks that won’t watch this:

First Jordan had his house in order, hence he was in a position re teaching others (as is the rule he teaches), then from his status re not being at all F-ed w/ underlying stuff, Peterson started taking a benzo exactly as his doc prescribed re fixing a reaction that Jordan was having re eating food on Vancouver island, then the benzos made him physically dependent (which is not the same as being a psychologically dependent junkie), then North American docs failed to fix the benzo problem because they mistakenly worried about underlying stuff that Jordan tells us never existed, then Russia and Serbia fixed it w/ what seems to be a form of a never ending intraoperative phase sans the surgeon, just anesthesia.

Presumably I’ve missed something. Or, they left out some details.

I dunno.

RigelDog said...

Ms. Althouse, Mikhaila Peterson was indeed named for Mikhail Gorbachov. Peterson is a polymath who is intensely interested in how totalitarianism arises and functions; he thinks that The Gulag Archipeligo is the most important book of the 20th Century.

Narr said...

Gulag Archipeligo, yes. A great work.

He was loathed by the USSR and disdained by most Western elites--which should have been a sign of something to more people.

Narr
Convergence Theory indeed

themightypuck said...

I feel incredibly lucky. I was on Xanax from 1998 to 2008 and I went off cold turkey. It was a weird 3 days but nothing like JBP's experience. I only took it to sleep or if I had a panic attack (which was why it was prescribed) so maybe the period during the day when I wasn't on it made a difference.

buwaya said...

The cost of entry for newspapers in the US was extremely low 150-100 years ago. Thats why there were so many newspapers - there were something like 1000 German language newspapers alone, in 1890. The number in wiki for active black newspapers by 1940 was around 250. There was no bar, it seems, to black people communicating by the usual means of the day.

Likewise for higher ed institutions. It is no accident that there were so many historically black colleges - they all date to that time. There were over a hundred at one point (1940's). The first one is given as being founded in 1827. Given that, there is no excuse for claiming a failure of historical memory.

Sidenote - there was an extreme rate of institution-founding in those days; there are more students now, but there were many more independent entities then.

If you compare internationally, by the standards of the time, American black communities had an enormous infrastructure of education and communication even in the 19th century. Compare vs any Eastern or Southern European or Asian country then and now. These all managed to retain an ethnic identity and preserve their histories with vastly fewer modern resources.

Narr said...

Buwaya, I don't disagree with you main points, but you lose me at the end.

I can't speak about Asia with any confidence, but African-Americans, unlike the subaltern (or what Marx and Engels liked to dub 'non-historical') groups in Eastern or Southern Europe were taken from one continent to another and deliberately denied any semblance of rights or cultural continuity over centuries.

That's a big deficit to overcome, with a hundred typical Black colleges of the 19th C. Even many white "colleges" were high-school level, junior college, or teacher and preacher shops, nothing like elite institutions then or now.

One consequence of the Great Society and desegregation is that white schools pay top dollar for the few African-Americans that have the credentials in a lot of fields, and HBCU's can't compete.

Narr
AA's got some money and designations as land-grant institutions by the Second Morrill Act in 1890

Kylos said...

They never mentioned using propanolol to manage the akathisia. My wife's psychiatrist prescribed that for her and it seemed to help quite a bit.