Christian psychologist Jordan Peterson, known to millions across the globe, is in dire need of prayer, said his daughter, Mikhaila Peterson, who posted a deeply personal update on social media over the weekend, imploring her followers to pray for her father. 

In a viral video posted on Oct. 4, Mikhaila shared that her dad — who joined The Daily Wire in 2022 after rising to the international stage after his public criticism of a Canadian bill that moved to add gender protections to the country’s code of human rights (and subsequently has spoken with EWTN and Bishop Barron) — has spent almost an entire month in the intensive care unit fighting pneumonia and sepsis. 

Calling her father’s condition “near death,” Mikhaila shared that “this summer has been exceedingly difficult,” calling the entire ordeal “terrifying.”

The author of the 2018 self-help book 12 Rules for Life, which has sold millions of copies across the globe, also catapulted the professor into the spotlight. 

Speaking about his health, Mikhaila said he dealt with a “host of neurological issues this summer that we believe stem from …chronic inflammatory response syndrome, due to decades of mold exposure.”

According to Mikhaila, the symptoms were triggered by her father spending time in a basement tending to his own late father’s belongings.  

But she believes more is at play, pointing to spiritual warfare. 

“We don’t have a better explanation for his neurological symptoms at the moment other than spiritual attacks,” Mikhaila said. 

Peterson’s daughter also mentioned another health scare involving her own daughter. 

The 32-year-old talk-show host said, “In August, the day Dad was brought to a hospital by ambulance, my newborn Audrey was also brought to a hospital by ambulance — within hours of each other."

The infant stabilized after being treated for pulmonary hypertension.

“Every single day this summer and now fall has been like watching a movie,” Mikhaila said, with tears in her eyes. 

“I miss my dad. My brother misses his dad. My mom misses her best friend and husband.”

Peterson’s wife Tammy has been vocal about her own health struggles, including a cancer diagnosis that led to her own conversion to Catholicism, which began by praying the Rosary. 

In speaking with EWTN about his wife’s embrace of the Catholic faith and his own Christian faith, Peterson has expressed openness to the one, true, apostolic faith. Speaking of the cross to EWTN News’ Colm Flynn, he said the cross symbolized “the point where everything comes together. It’s the agony of life. And the triumph of life in the face of mortality.”

Calling Tammy’s conversion, “ridiculously great,” Flynn pushed him on why he himself hasn’t decided to convert. After a pause, he said it was in “Tammy’s destiny.” And when broached on whether it was in his own destiny, he responded, “It’s unlikely.” 

“Why do you say that?” Flynn pressed, and Peterson responded, “I exist on the border of things. … That’s how it is.”

Speaking to Raymond Arroyo on The World Over, Peterson said Tammy’s newfound Catholic faith has “been nothing but good for her. And it’s a wonderful thing to see. And so now, has that increased my faith in God? Well, like I said, it was already there to a large degree,” Peterson said. 

“Everything I do is an act of faith. Now, whether I’m doing it perfectly or not, that’s a whole different question,”

It was just in August that Mikhaila shared the news of her father taking “time off of everything,” adding: “He’s been suffering for the last number of years with unexplainable neuropathy and weakness, amongst other symptoms.”

She mentioned a silver lining in the fact that he is now out of the ICU. 

“After almost a month in the ICU, he’s been moved out to a less urgent floor. Praise God for that.”

But Mikhaila says her father needs prayers, as his health remains uncertain. 

“We’re still in the midst of this, but now we’re seeing improvements daily,” she said. “The timeline for his full recovery is hard to tell at the moment.”

The situation is complicated by the fact that Peterson is unable to take certain drugs because “he can’t take most medications without suffering from severe paradoxical reactions, which limits treatment options.”

“Given we think there’s a spiritual element at play here, we believe the right way to fight back is to keep going and push harder,” Mikhaila said, before adding: 

“Life isn’t necessarily supposed to get easier when you’re doing the right thing, and I can see God’s hand throughout this.”

“But,” she said, “it’s a lot to handle.”

As Catholics, we know a great deal in life is a lot of handle, but trusting the Divine Physician, we can find peace in the midst of such pain and turmoil. 

Please keep the Peterson family in your prayers!