“We must Glorify Human Values”
Psychiatry Professor and President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan made evaluations especially on earthquake psychology in the "Disaster Management and Media" issue of TRT Akademi Dergisi (Academy Journal).
TRT Academy Journal: On February 6, 2023, we experienced a devastating earthquake that affected 11 of our provinces. Thousands of people lost their lives in this earthquake. Millions of people have been affected directly and indirectly. After the earthquake, there were traumas in both the individuals who experienced the earthquake and watched the earthquake images from the news. How can you explain the psychological dimension of this process?
Nevzat Tarhan: The February 6 earthquake was a very large regional earthquake. It was even called the "little doomsday" by those who experienced the earthquake. On the same day, 2 more major earthquakes took place. In fact, this earthquake was a game changer for geoscientists. Therefore, it is necessary to consider this earthquake separately from the point of view of those who experienced it, from the point of view of other people in our country and from the point of view of the administrators who are responsible here. For those who experience an earthquake, first there is a sudden shock effect during such an earthquake. When there is a shock effect, people freeze and look around in a meaningless way. In this case, anger, fainting, talking to yourself and laughter may occur. many examples of which have been seen which happened after the earthquake. Usually, a period of protest emerges and the person does not accept the situation, but rejects it after that first shock period. A person does not want to believe that their relatives are trapped under the rubble. The third period is the bargaining period. In this period, people may have thoughts such as passing away even though there are various situations if one is under the rubble. The fourth period is the period of acceptance. While this condition lasts for a few days in some people, it can also last for months in some people. If this process exceeds eight weeks, it is considered a disorder. People are not given medication unless they experience these situations very severely, it disrupts their social adaptation. We went through this process together. At that time, we established a psychosocial support line as a university and hospital. Nearly 30 psychologists and around 20 psychiatrists conducted scans with traumatized survivors via WhatsApp or Zoom. We talked about what kind of cases there were in our meetings. For example, five people were trapped alive under the rubble in one case. The mother of the earthquake victim we spoke to, his siblings and father are dying under the rubble. After the third day, he is left alone. On the fifth day, he is rescued. In his testimony, the earthquake victim says that he did not respond when the team came to rescue her. The earthquake victim tells the teams that he wants to die for the moment and says that "if you had reached us earlier, we would all have been rescued." This earthquake victim had a very serious post-traumatic stress disorder called flashbacks, such as re-living that moment, not being able to sleep, and dreaming at night. There are perhaps hundreds of stories like this one. It is challenging to understand the people there from a distance unless you have experienced this situation. They were very traumatized. The other important point here is that other people in our country have also experienced a secondary trauma. We were not in that area at the time of the earthquake, but thanks to the role of the media there, the trauma in the region has become globalized. There have been people we have corresponded with and talked to from abroad and they have been really affected by this earthquake. The fact that our people quickly brought aid to the region with trucks became a matter of issue in the world. Maybe if it were another country, everyone would run away and take care of their own problems. Even Generation Z, which is widely criticized by Generation X and Y, organized the aid that went through their own means and universities. We have witnessed this in our own university.
TRT Academy Journal: After the earthquake, stories of many human were witnessed through the media organizations and the shares made by the people from their personal accounts on social media. What is the effect of this situation on human psychology, especially for the viewers?
Nevzat Tarhan: Such an event is a fact of life right now. To remain insensitive to this event and to run away are not healthy reactions. It will be healthier for our citizens living outside the earthquake zone to empathize with the people living in that region. We can say that this has been the case to a great extent in our country. Those who went to the regions after the first few days of shock said that there was an abundance there and that the state was there. And I have said it in the publications that we can actually make cities brother cities for these situations. For example, we gave an award to Merzifon Municipality within the scope of High Human Values Awards. As soon as they learned about the earthquake, they sent both fire brigades and food vehicles in the early hours of the morning. There are very good examples like this. These examples need to be experienced. The fact that Generation Z, who we call very conformist, is also experiencing this shows that our sociological heritage continues. Of course, we do not know if this will continue in 20 years and 30 years. We need to keep that legacy alive. In this regard, if families cannot make cultural transfer, the media does the opposite. For this reason, the state now needs to impose human values and cultural values into the education system. It needs to form reflexes that will protect our accumulation and explain it methodologically within scientific standards. It is necessary to continue people to responsibilities at this point by doing projects at the high school level, such as community services, such as random kindness projects, projects to help the elderly, projects to help the disadvantaged.
TRT Academy Journal: In the first question, we talked about the psychology in the earthquake process. After the situation of individuals, and after the earthquake is accepted as a case, how can individuals get rid of this psychology and mood or is it possible? What is the duty of individuals and the state here? What should we do individually and socially to get out of this mood?
Nevzat Tarhan: After 8 weeks, it is necessary to get help from an expert. However, it is not right to take people in these 8 weeks and make sense of them. Debriefing efforts such as "There is worse than worse, look, you are saved, there are those who lost their lives" will backfire. The person is in a period of intense emotions at that moment. At that time, you cannot get into the mind through persuasion. In that period, emotional sharing, relieving loneliness, holding one’s hand and waiting, making a person feel that you are with them, meeting their basic needs are relieving. You should not bring up the subject unless that person asks. This also applies for those who have not yet overcome this trauma. Therapy has also been started for people whose mental health has not improved, who cannot return to a routine on their own, and whose lifestyles are affected by trauma. Their condition is called complicated grief. This is what unacknowledged mourning is called. People who are experiencing this grief need expert help. The debriefing method used in the past, that is, the method of making sense to eliminate their grief, is not done at the moment. There are personalized trauma treatments and they are applied. The personality profile of the person is first extracted, where the strong and weak methods are determined. Moreover, personality characteristics outside of trauma are strengthened and it is ensured that the person overcomes the trauma on their own. Approaches to trauma can only be done if the person wishes. Apart from this, the positive reinforcement method is adopted instead of correcting the problem. With this, one solves the trauma logically by themselves and puts it on the shelf and returns to routine life when a person develops positive personality traits. In this case, the trauma is not forgotten or mummification is not done because it is not true. In this case, the trauma is miniaturized. Their memory is kept alive, but it is made smaller.
TRT Academy Journal: Does the state provide any support for people who need psychological help? We mentioned that approximately 15 million people were affected. Does the state have an initiative at this point?
Nevzat Tarhan: We have dozens of videos on this subject. Those who want to watch these videos by choosing the one that suits them and can also forward their questions to us. The Ministry of Health and various organizations also supported our psycho-support line. After all, trauma has happened. There is a method and ways out of that trauma. Here coping methods stand out. In the United States, for example, people who have been traumatized by wars and who have post-traumatic stress disorder are still being followed up in hospitals. At this point, Americans prefer to turn people to drugs and entertainment as a method of coping, and many of the people who experience this trauma are alcoholics. Of course, there are also healthy coping methods. One of these methods is religious method for coping. In this method, people take refuge mentally in a higher power. People, who manage to surrender to a high A higher power being omniscient, predicting all, know that these events are not coincidences and they have meaning, will can use this method. Another coping method is for people to become pacified and depressed. In this way, they withdraw into themselves and apply a coping method; however, in this case, they experience loneliness and unhappiness, and most of them become depressed. Therefore, it may be better for people to take refuge in a high power in this case. At this point, science is not ignored, of course, science is followed, as well. We will follow the science, and then we will surrender. There is a very beautiful saying in Anatolia; "Be ambitious in the harvest, be contented in the crop." Thus, you will be accepting in getting results, but you will be assertive in precaution. The most important lesson we can draw from this is that our organizations responsible for earthquakes should be constantly vigilant like firefighters since we live in the earthquake region. AFAD, Kızılay should all be like that. All organizations had to react immediately. We need to learn this lesson. Instead of questioning the past now, we need to be critical of what we do next. Therefore, as a society, we need to stop being Eastern Society and become System Society. Since we are not a System Society, we expect such sudden decisions and everything from the leader. In system societies, everything works automatically. It does not happen when you expect everything from the leader and the state. Even managers in the small units need to take the initiative. This is the case in system societies. Job descriptions are made in advance, managers know how to take initiative, they do not wait for orders. I think this can be one of the conclusions we can draw in terms of management systems.
TRT Academy Journal: Professor, one of the groups affected by the earthquake is undoubtedly children. Whether it was AFAD or various municipalities, they immediately set up playgrounds in the earthquake zone. When we watch these images, the children seem not to be very affected, however, they are surely one of the most affected. From this point of view, what are the effects of earthquakes or natural disasters on children? What can be done for children in the short and long term?
Nevzat Tarhan: In this regard, it is necessary to distinguish between children aged 0-10 and over 10 years. Abstract thinking skills do not develop in children until the age of 6. The first 10 years are completely dependent on and dependent on the mother and father. At this age, the child will take care of the mother and father, so the child reacts according to their reaction. Thus, there is no need to be too worried about the first 10 years. In that age group, it would be more accurate to focus on the moods of the mother and father. Trying to get children away from the environment, not showing them the environment, creating uncertainty will be a greater trauma for that age group. Of course, this also applies to adults. The most comforting thing for society would be to remove uncertainty in these situations. Will we be forgotten in the earthquake zone? Will we have a home again? We need to answer questions like. Crises have a threat and an opportunity aspect. Now, as a society, it will be better to focus on the opportunities of crises instead of the threat side.
TRT Academy Journal: Professor, there are people who are rescued from under the rubble after disasters or who are under the influence of shock. These people are handed microphones or filmed. These images are also shared on social media channels for interaction. How would you evaluate this situation?
Nevzat Tarhan: First of all, those people are injured people. If you have an injured pet, you know that it does not let to be petted. And the reason it does this is not because it is angry with you, not because it does not want you, but because it is afraid of getting hurt. At this point, our citizens who are victims of the earthquake are injured, and they can and should say anything. If they do not, they may enter a greater depression themselves and those responsible may not realize their mistakes. At this point, such exceptional events are the food for the media's life, and we should be aware of this. For this reason, of course, these situations will be reported, but it is useful to present positive and negative news more balanced. I am not talking about hiding this news, of course it will shake people's confidence more, the traumas will turn into the traumas of uncertainty. This causes anxiety about the future and paves the way for greater traumas. This will happen in the same way in both adults and children. Some people are also "ego surfing" in the media right now and are using every event to expose themselves. This is, of course, the disease of Narcissism. Right now, a book called The Epidemic of Narcissism has also come out in the United States. In narcissism, people feed on praise and applause. Such people try to catch something extra in such situations just to get more likes just to get praise. This was the media's job before, but now everyone is doing it for their own social media. This is of course a result of the popularity of the egocentric type of person. Unfortunately, this is also a nightmare of modernism. This is the fetishism of self-display. This has also happened in the earthquake zone. There have also been those who have adopted the idea of capturing the image of the person who needs help in the earthquake instead of helping them. As technology makes our lives easier, in some cases it can drag down our humanity like this. Unfortunately, we have seen this in this region. Hopefully, we try to say that these are marginal types, but when we observe social media, we see that these people have become mainstream. This is a very dangerous situation for the future of humanity.
TRT Academy Journal: What should be the process of redefining people's lives with themselves and their families in the social sense due to the losses and traumas experienced after the earthquake? Can a person overcome this situation on their own without psychological support?
Nevzat Tarhan: One has to accept that one has experienced a big event. They should continue their life by accepting the situation they are experiencing without mummifying this situation. If a person can say, "I am doing my part," their conscience will be relieved. If they are doing something here to get their hands on it, they are going to do their part about it to get back to routine. That's our advice. Apart from this, as we said, it is necessary to eliminate the uncertainty in the lives of these people. It will also be beneficial for the relief activities carried out to these people after the earthquake to continue until these people return to routine. On the scale of post-traumatic growth, for example, we have a question. There is an option here that I have started to treat my relatives better. People can achieve such gains in terms of maturing themselves. If one can achieve these gains, the events that seem like a disaster will turn into gains for us in the long run. Spirituality, this has two meanings. One is in the religious sense, in the mystical sense, while the other is semantic, that is, it makes a sense of this event and goes out to make a logical definition. People should draw a new goal and road map by saying what this event has taught me. It needs to change the parts of itself that think only of their own comfort, that aim for a limitless life through capitalist greed. If this kind of person inculcates that I need to develop my benevolent sides and sculpt my bad sides, this trauma will be a mercy to this region. Trauma is ultimately a disaster, but evil is actually part of the perfection. They are an opportunity to go for perfection. Without diseases, we do not even need where our heart is. They all have existential meaning. The manufacturer of a machine immediately gives instructions for use. Just like him, the creator of us is the one who knows the best and the truest about us. So, I would say that people should look at this event with the same eye as the message of the Creator. The greatest enemy of people in these periods is despair and pessimism. If we fall for this, the brain resents and the body gives itself up, which causes sudden death. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the sense of hope and not to fall into pessimism.
TRT Academy Journal: Professor, there are two incidents. The first one is a crane operator who has lost his family but is not going to take their funeral, but to help other people in their rescue efforts. In another example, an AFAD volunteer disappears for about half an hour while organizing rescue efforts. While the people around him reproach this situation, it is revealed that the AFAD volunteer went to receive the funeral of his family. In these examples, we see that people participate in rescue efforts by giving up on themselves and their families. How do you evaluate this situation?
Nevzat Tarhan: All of the volunteers working in that area had their fingers injured from digging debris. They are heroes, let's say that. These are people who transcend their ego. Human virtues fall into six groups, and one of them is the virtue of transcendence. It is in the sociological structure of our society, but it is not genetic, it is learned later. Capitalist morality has now destroyed the world. In the U.S., an American consumes as much as 5 people. The market must have morality. Man was thought to be homo economicus, but it turned out to be homo psychologicus. Therefore, man is not only a being who maximizes benefit, but one is happy if they maximize the good and the benevolent. A person becomes relieved, too. If you examine the brains of people who help, you will see that they secrete the hormone of happiness. There is the peace of mind that comes from helping. For this reason, there is a teaching in Islam that the taker does not win, but the giver wins. The true giver earns both spiritually and as inner peace in this world. One also earns rewards for the eternal realm. For this reason, it is in the interest of humanity to keep this feeling alive. With the actions of the volunteers coming from abroad, we were told that humanity was alive and not dead.