Jordan Peterson on taking Benzos: I couldn't breathe

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GUEST BIO:
Jordan Peterson is a psychologist, lecturer, podcast host, and author.

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[TNTTruth]

Because Jordan Peterson was forthright about his struggle with Benzos, I decided to quit mine. It took me 3 1/2 months to completely detox, but I have successfully stopped now for 6 months. I will never take them again! Thanx Jordan

[BaleFieldAce]

Maaaan, clearly some of this comment section hasn't seen the sheer amount of damage that benzos can cause. Look I love recreational drugs, but benzos are the one thing that I will not touch. Shit destroys people, and in my experience, they rarely recover.

[elizabethwilk]

Off and on as needed I’ve taken Xanax for anxiety. I’ve taken the lowest dose - for those of us with panic attack and anxiety it’s a life saver. Yes one can take an anti depressant for anxiety and that made me gain 50 lbs and created other health issues so benzos not abused but used cautiously can be beneficial

[kaneharris]

Anecdotal but I was recommended benzos for alcohol addiction but not told consequences of mixing the two. Completely lost my shit. Mad pills, dudes. I stopped drinking but never felt the same: memory loss and just dumber. Dangerous drug!

[XxmecaxX]

i was heavily addicted to opiates for a decade. also i was prescribed 2mg a day of xanax for a decade. never abused it or craved it. After i kicked opiates i wanted to quit all drugs so i stopped taking xanax and realized i was physically dependent on day 2 when I WAS IN HELL! My doctor said that was a low dose...UHH BS. 2mg wd on that benzo was mentally worse than heroin WD's. So much for thinking my 10 year habit on fking heroin was the end of the withdrawal nightmare smh. ive gotten down to .5mg a day after months. I HATE THIS DRUG

[frantsel]

There is little I want more than Gabor Maté talking to Jordan Peterson. He will crack him in 5 minutes.

[nickhayden]

Even as bad as my anxiety is, I'm glad I'm smart enough to know benzos are not the answer.
Trading one problem for another is never wise

[bbldb]

3 years ago I was diagnosed with type 2 and I was fat and all the metabolic markers I can think of were out of range, I started low carb a cured everything. I’m a 75 no medicine super power. I also fast for Autophagy just for the deep cleaning.

[vman]

Jordan might benefit from some serious physical exercise routine: cardio, resistance training, etc. A couple hours a day, hopefully.

[JZGreengo]

On lexapro I developed akathisia and persistent sexual dysfunction (PSSD), thank you modern medicine, I should get my fourth Pfizer vaccine

[KingBowserVlog]

Man, I'm reading these stories and I realize I'm not the only one. I had a similar story to Jordan last year, in the sense there was already some disease brewing in me. Long story short, I ended up in the hospital for an episode I had and they put me on klonopin. Dose after dose I then had awful seizures (I've never had a seizure in my life). When my parents took me off the hospital, since they were slowly killing me and my motor skills were basically non-existent, I almost died from the withdrawal when I got home. I had a fever, hallucinations and I basically do not remember anything from 2 days straight. Everything lined up for a perfect storm but the benzos were the tipping point. It took me about a month to feel like my memory was "normal". Now, close to a year later, I'm much better, thank God.

[ThinkTwice]

Jordan should listen to Alan Watts... Like the sail of a ship, just allow... Allow...

[dasshape]

I went through some shit once and I was put on antivan 2mg for 1 month. It really helped give me the time to get my mind prepared to deal with shit. I was ashamed I took this and that it helped. But why should I not pass on info that might help others. I think key was low dose and don't drink any alcohol... none. And u have to process your shit and get mentally tough while the drug helps you. Now that was just my way. And it worked for me. Everyone is different... what was diet..

[jlnrdeep]

Who would have thought ... taking drugs have side effects, it seems obvious at first, but most people don't read the fine print, even then that doesn't excuse shitty behaviour

[KROGANLovesKittensAndPuppies]

I had a cousin prescribed Xanax when I was in my late teens, he would give them to me for free sometimes. I would get some from him like once or twice a month and also bought them off dealers. I did them regularly, about once a week for a couple months (just because they were so easy for me to get) until eventually I realized I just didn't like them at all.

They just shut your brain off, like you can't hold a thought for more than a second before its gone. I don't do drugs anymore but I liked drugs that I thought would make you think more creatively or be more social, Xanax was the complete opposite of both. Just evil sedated nothingness, not even the ability to think or reflect. Even though I could get them for free I stopped because I just wasn't interested. And I'm glad because my cousin got addicted to them. He tried to quit cold turkey when his prescription ran out once and was vomiting, sweats and all that. He still takes Klonopin because he can't quit to this day over 15 years later from being prescribed Xanax.

Above any other drug Id say benzos are the most useless garbage and dangerous drugs that I've experienced and seen people high on, even worse than opiates. Opiates people nod out, scary for them and not good. Benzos people are awake but not there, scary for them, yourself and not good. Opiates you can at least tell people are not functional, benzos they can come across as functional and then be in some wide awake non-functional blacked out state the next moment. Like alcohol you can actually go into seizures and die from benzo withdrawals. The only way I imagine they help with stress or any problem is by shutting you off entirely, which is not helping or solving any problems.

[aaronmaloney]

Thank you jordan peterson for sharing your experience, I've shown these videos to my doctor & now I am finally getting some help and a response from them. 🇬🇧

[MrToadization]

After years of battling strong anxiety and depression I've come to the realization that I need downers to function in society. It kinda sucks sometimes but it is manageable. I avoid anti depressants and neuroleptics because I find the side effects horrible. I will use benzos for a couple weeks and then do a slow TAPER by breaking the pills into tiny pieces, tapering benzos can really be painless unless you've been on super high doses for a long period. Abusing them leads to my memory and IQ getting slapped and I don't really like how high doses make me feel anyway, taking a low dose like 2mg of valium is enough to subtly calm my nerves without inhibiting my cognition.... then I try to keep my opiates and Phenibut use for when I need to be social...
The key is to rotate between substances that have a different mechanisms of action. Never get stuck on one type of molecule for too long and regularly TAPER DOWN to have a tolerance break. Opiates are the hardest to keep in check because of the intense cravings but with strict discipline it can be done (once a week max). They are also much harder to taper than benzos IME. So be very careful especially in the US and Canada where the dope scene has become Russian roulette. But for me they're the most perfect antidepressant and probably saved me from killing myself. When I'm not using the sole idea that they exist and could provide that magic opiate relief at some point in the future is enough to make me feel like life is OK after all. Ofc this is not medical advice just sharing my experience and I know this can be a slippery slope but that's the only way I found to live a decent a productive life. Meditation and Wim Hof breathing helped but just didn't do it enough for me.

Edit: I was reacting to the topics discussed in the comments more so than the video. 10 years ago I experienced severe Benzo WD because I was taking extreme amounts (sm like 10 valium 10mg per day!!) that resulted in full body shakes, insomnia, EXTREME panic attacks etc. Not fun. If he had an allergic reaction on top I can't imagine the pain. But for most people low doses will never be a problem...

[BuIIet]

He was already on the carnivore diet for years before his benzo problem, I don't understand

[odt]

I was on benzos. was mostly awesome. the party was pooped on by petty enemies who really had it in for me mostly. not overconsumption.

[stacysmom]

I've been on xanax for a few years now and absolutely cant get off of them no matter how many times the doctor tried to ween me off of them. The withdraw is horrendous!!! I'm in my 50s now but in my 20s i was a illeagal drug user and one day i just quit them not a problem at all but benzos are the worst thing in the world to get off of 1000%