 So, Jordan Peterson's daughter, Mikayla, just released a video over on her YouTube channel discussing some things that are going on within the family, as well as Jordan Peterson checking himself into a rehab. Alright, so in this video, I might come off a little insensitive, but I'm telling you guys, I'm really tired of arguing with ignorant people on the internet. What is up everybody? This is Chris from the Rewired Soul, where we talk about the problem, but focus on the solution. And if you're new to my channel, what I try to do is take different topics going on in the YouTube community or pop culture and try to see what lessons we can learn from them to improve our own mental and emotional well-being. And two things that I'm really passionate about are mental health and addiction recovery. So if you're into any of that stuff, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell. And real quick, we're going to be talking about mental health. We're going to be talking a lot about anxiety because that's one of the reasons Jordan Peterson checked himself into rehab. So if you're struggling with anxiety, be sure to check out my book, Rewire Your Anxiety. I'm a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. And although I'm on anti-anxiety medications, they're non-narcotics. So this whole book, a lot of it, I dive into the neuroscience, I dive into the pros and cons of medications, but there are a lot of coping skills in there as well to help you manage your anxiety. So the link will be down in the description and in the pinned comment below. And it's available in both e-book and audio book format, all right? So before I jump into this topic about Jordan Peterson going into rehab for becoming addicted to his anxiety medications, if those of you who don't know me are probably like, who the hell is this guy? What are his qualifications? So hi, I'm Chris. I'm a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. And I've been clean for seven years, okay? My sobriety date is June 23, 2012. All right, not only that, but I was working in a dual diagnosis, drug and alcohol treatment center for a little over three years. We had every level of care from detox to a partial hospitalization program to inpatient, outpatient, aftercare. And I'm currently pursuing my CADC, which is a certified alcohol and drug counselor's license. All right, so I have a lot of experience, kind of know what I'm talking about, okay? So I will link Mikayla's video down in the description below. It's sad, man. It's also a really sad story. So Jordan Peterson's wife, which is Mikayla's mom, she was diagnosed with some pretty serious cancer. And that's, that's stressful for any family. And on top of that, Mikayla discusses how, you know, during one of the surgeries, there was a medical mistake. There was like a one in 20,000 chance and it happened. So it's very stressful, like Jordan Peterson is worried about his wife, you know, dealing with this terminal illness and watching her go through this pain. So I believe Mikayla said his doctor prescribed him clenazepam. And that's an anti-anxiety medication. For those of you who don't know what that is, it falls into the medication class of benzodiazepines. So it's in the same category as medications like Valium and Xanax, all right? So I'm on an anti-anxiety, anti-depression medication. It's Prozac. It's previously on Lexapro, but these are non-addictive substances, all right? And I'll talk a little bit more about that in a second. But the first thing I want to talk about with Jordan Peterson checking himself into rehab is this, like, like I said in the intro, I'm so sick and tired of arguing with ignorant people. And some of them, some of them are just in denial, all right? So these medications, like, they, they, they make you become dependent where your body needs them in order to function. So based on what we know about Jordan Peterson, I wouldn't even necessarily just assume that he's an addict. What we do know for a fact is he became dependent, all right? So one of the issues in current times is we prescribe medications all willy-nilly. One of the reasons they prescribe benzodiazepines is because they're fast-acting, all right? They're also known as tranquilizers. They go straight to the limbic system in your brain to kind of chill everything out. But Jordan Peterson tried to get off of them as, as his life circumstances started to chill out. He tried to quit them cold turkey, which is something you should never do with benzodiazepines because the withdrawal was so bad. This is why he checked himself into a rehab, all right? So one of the reasons I'm so frustrated is because months ago, a few months ago, I made a video about Suboxone. Those of you who don't know what that medication is, it helps people come off of opioids. So my drug of choice was prescription opioids. I actually didn't use Suboxone when I got off of it. But if it was an option, you best believe I would. But all I was trying to do in my videos was explain to people like just know the risk of long-term Suboxone maintenance. And I had people freaking out and losing their mind. Like I am not anti-Suboxone. I am not anti-medication. I just want people to be equipped with the proper information. And the proper information is medications like Suboxone will become addictive or make you physically dependent. So if you're like Jordan Peterson and you get to a place where you want to come off, you are screwed. This is why we recommend short-term Suboxone maintenance. All right? Now, you don't have to listen to me. Do what you want, boo. But you might run into a situation like this. But when it comes to Jordan Peterson and the benzodiazepine he was on. So like I said, in my book, Rewire Your Anxiety, I discuss medications. And like I said, I am on an anti-anxiety medication, but it is not a benzodiazepine. But withdrawal from this substance is so dangerous. The two most dangerous substances to get off of because of the dependence are alcohol and benzodiazepines. Like those two coming off of those without medical supervision can lead to death or seizures. OK, like whenever people DM me and stuff like that and like, hey, you got any tips about, you know, quitting this substance? I'm like, yeah, get medical help. Like I used to teach my clients this like we don't give out awards. All right. We don't have like an annual award ceremony where we hand out trophies to people who quit cold turkey, like see a damn doctor. All right. Like when I was working in the treatment center, we had one woman who was addicted to benzos for years. And even under medical supervision, even with anti-seizure medications, she had like four or five seizures her first month. So thank God she was out of facility and under medical supervision. There was another time when I was teaching a group and there was this one kid who was clean for like, I think a month and a half or so. But when your body builds a dependence, like your your your brain and your body don't just bounce back to equilibrium right away, it can take some time. And I'm in the middle of doing this group and I've never seen somebody just have a seizure like this right in front of my eyes. But I'm just teaching a group and he just turns stiff as a board, falls out of his chair and starts having a seizure. So like just know I'm not anti-medications, but I do try to teach people how to look for every other option before looking at benzos like Xanax or Valium or what Jordan Peterson was on, Panazepam. All right. So the second part of this video, it's going to come off a little insensitive, but I just want you to know this is nothing towards Jordan Peterson or his family or anything like that. Like this is a devastating, brutal situation to be in. What I'm about to talk about is it's mainly for a certain group of people on the internet who just has the whole conversation about mental health just twisted. All right. So those of you who don't know earlier this year, I was canceled. I had hundreds of thousands of people coming at me and saying, you're not allowed to talk about mental health. You're not a mental health professional. You're not licensed. You don't have a degree. Like this is a situation that we need to look at. OK, Jordan Peterson is a psychologist. OK, he has a degree in psychology, helping people with their mental health. Not only that, but he's a professor. He teaches other people how to get a degree in psychology. All right. Aside from that, he has also wrote a bestselling book called The 12 Rules of Life, trying to help people out there deal with suffering. OK. And how to become better people. And even this man, even this man had to turn to a substance that has made him develop a physical dependence because he didn't have the tools necessary to deal with this devastating, inevitable life experience. So again, this is not a dig at Jordan Peterson. What I'm trying to say is, listen, you guys, like maybe it's possible that people without a degree know what they're talking about. OK. Because like I said, I've been clean and sober for seven years. Turning to those types of medications, no matter what happens in my life, is not an option. Like if my beautiful girlfriend Tristan dies, if my son dies, if my mom or dad or my friends die, I cannot turn to those substances. So maybe, maybe you might want to listen to me because I figured out a few ways to deal with the chaos of everyday life without having to turn to a substance. All right. And some of you might be thinking, well, Chris, you've never had someone close to you pass away. And that is false. When I first got sober and I met with my my first sponsor, we were talking about reservations, like what's something that could happen in my life that would make me go back to drugs or alcohol? Immediately, I was like, if my grandma dies, like I said, if my grandma dies, I'm going to relapse. Like she was the most important woman in my life. She meant the world to me. I grew up thinking nobody loved me or wanted anything to do with me. But that woman loved the hell out of me. She loved me unconditionally. She spent time with me when nobody else in my family was like she was just just one of the most important parts of my life. And I'm so grateful that she got to see me get sober. But just a few years ago, she passed away from Parkinson's disease. And I just got a call one day saying, you know, she's going to be in hospice and she might live for another month or maybe another year. And I had to deal with that pain, that anxiety, that sadness without taking a single drink or a drug. All right. So I'm not here to toot my own horn or anything, but I just want to have you guys let that sink in for a little bit. All right. There are people like Jordan Peterson who have made a career out of helping other people, but even they have to turn to pharmaceuticals in order to manage the suffering of everyday life. So there's people like me as well as many other who have a ton, a ton of experience and have figured out ways to manage our mental health in different ways. All right. So I just want you to think about that real quick, because like I said, the frustration comes from the hate mob that attacked and said like, Oh, well, you don't have a degree or a license. Clearly, clearly I figured something out. So if you don't want to listen to me and my mental health advice and what I have to say, that's totally cool. But I just want you to sit back and reflect on that for a minute because of a psychologist like Jordan Peterson has to check himself into rehab because he developed a dependence to anti-anxiety medications. You might want to ask yourself who you're taking all of your advice from. All right. But anyways, like I said, don't forget my book, We Are Your Anxiety is out. If you have anxiety and want to learn ways that I've been able to cope with my anxiety without having to turn to different substances, check it out. There is a ton, a ton of tools in there. All right. And it's available in both ebook and audiobook format. All right. But anyways, that's all I got for this video. If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up. If you're new, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell and a huge, huge thank you to everybody who supports the channel over on Patreon and a huge thank you to everybody who buys my books and things like that because that helps support the channel as well. All right. Thanks again for watching. I'll see you next time.