Welcome to the Mikhaila Peterson Podcast, episode 9. This is a brief podcast with my dad Jordan Peterson about what happened to him and my family in the last year.

The following are links that may help elucidate some of the topics we discussed in this episode:

Paradoxical reaction to benzodiazepines – a condition dad was diagnosed with
https://www.acep.org/how-we-serve/sections/toxicology/news/july-2017/paradoxical-reactions-to-benzodiazepines-who-gets-them-and-why/
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Akathisia - something dad really really really suffered from - https://w-bad.org/akathisia/ - “Many medical professionals don’t recognize akathisia or that it’s a drug-induced state. Instead, they write off the symptoms as a “worsening of mental illness” or other condition. Sometimes they even raise the dose of the offending drug and when the patient’s condition worsens as a result, they may prescribe more medication which can sometimes further exacerbate the problem or that fail to offer relief. If the medical professionals you encounter are ignorant about akathisia or attempt to blame it on “something else”, present them with medical information on the condition or search until you find a knowledgeable physician.”
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Catatonia and benzo withdrawal -
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8835707/
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Suicidality and benzodiazepines -
https://www.psychiatrist.com/PCC/article/Pages/2017/v19n02/16r02037.aspx -
“The majority of studies identified in this review report a positive correlation between prescribed benzodiazepines and attempted or completed suicide.”
https://www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20181101/benzodiazepine-users-with-ptsd-more-likely-to-attempt-complete-suicide
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Dependence vs. Addiction -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSdYltpePU8&list=PLGiM-snSAzyv6vnRV5NRsnJ_aQmapK0FI&index=7&t=0s
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Benzodiazepine use and dementia risk - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6325366/
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Benzo prescription rates:
“More than one in eight U.S. adults (12.6 percent) used benzodiazepines in the past year”
https://www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/news-releases/study-finds-increasing-use-and-misuse-of-benzodiazepines
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Examples of severe benzo withdrawal from prescribed benzos:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/lifestyle/healthandlife/benzo-nightmare-us-doctor-on-a-personal-mission-to-highlight-the-dangers-of-the-drug-995756.html
http://www.benzo-case-japan.com/my-story-english.php
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2047018/
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A particularly heartbreaking experience
http://www.zakstein.org/for-meghan-testimony-in-support-of-ma-house-act-4062/
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Celebrity deaths involving benzos:

Anna Nicole Smith, Whitney Houston, - https://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2012/03/02/how_antianxiety_meds_are_killing_celebrities.html

Heath Ledger - https://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/06/heath.ledger/

Michael Jackson - http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/15634083/the-drugs-found-in-michael-jacksons-body-after-he-died

Philip Seymour Hoffman - https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobsullum/2014/03/03/philip-seymour-hoffmans-mixed-drug-intoxication-is-typical-of-so-called-heroin-overdoses/#6c1ac87c14aa

Amy Winehouse - https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/270466/Amy-Winehouse-had-taken-sedative

Tom Petty - https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cchr-another-celebrity-lost-to-benzodiazepines-and-opioids-mix-300588100.html
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Benzos and early death:
The study’s results state the statistically significant chances of early death double with the prescription of a benzodiazepine.
https://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g1996
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Overdose risk of benzos with opioids:
“Yet over 30 percent of opioid-related overdoses also include benzodiazepines. One study published this year showed that using benzos with opioids increases overdose risk five-fold compared with using opioids only.”
https://www.upmc.com/media/news/opioid-benzo-overdose
https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/opioids/benzodiazepines-opioids
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Warnings for benzodiazepine usage:
“If benzodiazepines are needed daily, people shouldn’t take them for longer than two to four weeks. If used long term, then it’s best only to take them two to three times a week.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/02/antianxiety-drugs-fuel-the-next-deadly-drug-crisis-in-us.html
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The Ashton Protocol – how some people get off of benzos – not something Dad could tolerate given his paradoxical reaction and akathisia https://benzo.org.uk/manual/
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Collecting duct carcinoma - the cancer mom miraculously recovered from - https://www.currentoncology.com/index.php/oncology/article/view/1230/1229
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Sodium metabisulfite allergy symptoms – the original cause of the benzodiazepine prescription - https://foodallergycanada.ca/food-allergy-basics/food-allergies-101/what-are-food-allergies/sulphites/
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Other links about benzos:

https://medicatingnormal.com/benzodiazepines-anti-anxiety-meds/

https://www.theinnercompass.org/learn-unlearn/intervention/anti-anxiety-benzodiazepines

www.benzobuddies.org