A Radical Diet and Unseen Risks
Behind the image of the disciplined, rule‑giving professor lay a body in crisis. In 2016, Jordan Peterson dramatically restricted his diet in a bid to manage depression and an autoimmune disorder, first limiting himself to meat and a few vegetables.
By mid‑2018, he cut out vegetables entirely, adopting a regimen of only beef, salt, and water—a "lion diet" similar to the one promoted by his daughter Mikhaila. Nutrition experts warned such a regime could cause "severe dysregulation," and Mikhaila later reported that Peterson experienced a "violent reaction" even to the meat‑and‑greens version.
Slipping into Dependence
Amid this upheaval, Peterson was prescribed clonazepam, a benzodiazepine, for anxiety that he said began after the diet reaction. What started as 0.5 mg per day in 2016 rose to 4 mg per day by 2020.
He attributed the escalating dose partly to the emotional strain of his wife Tammy’s diagnosis with kidney cancer. Attempts to taper the drug, he said, triggered "horrific" withdrawal symptoms—a classic marker of benzodiazepine dependence.
A Coma in Moscow
By early 2020, Peterson claimed he could not find North American doctors willing to place him in a medically induced coma to manage his withdrawal. Desperate, he flew to Moscow, Russia.
There, doctors reportedly diagnosed him with double pneumonia and placed him in a medically induced coma for eight days, followed by four weeks in intensive care. During that period, he later recounted, he temporarily lost motor skills—a terrifying outcome for someone whose life revolved around lecturing and writing.
Recovery Abroad and a Quiet Return
After Russia, Peterson and his family decamped to Belgrade, Serbia, for several months of recovery. In June 2020, he resurfaced in a podcast recorded with his daughter in Belgrade, describing himself as "back to [his] regular self." But the ordeal was not over.
In August 2020, his daughter revealed he had contracted COVID‑19 during his hospitalization in Serbia. By October, he had returned to Canada, telling YouTube viewers he aimed to resume work soon.
A New Wave of Health Crises
The trials continued. From August 2025, Peterson suffered from chronic inflammatory response syndrome, a condition that left him in intensive care for three months. He was diagnosed with polyneuropathy and later myopathy—serious disorders affecting nerves and muscles.
By December 2025, his family confirmed he had returned home, though his health had barely improved. In April 2026, his daughter reported he was struggling with akathisia, an agonizing restlessness known as a possible side effect of antipsychotics, antidepressants, and benzodiazepines—something he had also endured in earlier years.
The Human Cost of a Public Life
The arc of Peterson’s health struggles runs in parallel with his ascent to global fame: the radical diet launched as his profile exploded; the sedation in Moscow came after years of relentless touring and controversy.
Whatever one thinks of his ideas, the story behind the podium is stark: a man who preached order battling chaos in his own body, illustrating how the costs of public success can be measured not only in headlines, but in hospital stays and scars.