Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "Young people are paying the first price of the changing world"

President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan participated in the online event organized by Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University. Delivering his speech under the title of 'Changing World, Changing Youth', Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that young people pay the first price of the changing world and underlined that a person should determine their ideals well while realizing themselves. Tarhan, who gave advice to young people about the future at the event, stated that "Whatever you put at the center of the strategic goal, your future will be shaped accordingly.”

The event, which attracted great interest from students and academic staff, was moderated by Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Advisor to the Rector Prof. Ali Murat Alparslan.

"Young people pay the first price of the changing world"

Emphasizing that the one who manages big data is in a position to rule the world, President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that an evolution has taken place in science. Tarhan said that "Big data actually means that there is an evolution happening in science. In this case, science is developing and changing very quickly. We live in the age of speed, and along with speed, we also live in the age of pleasure. In such a case, the effect happens very rapidly... Since everything is changing rapidly, our young people are the most affected by this speed. We expected that the elderly would be the ones who suffered the most in this pandemic. The ministry has made restrictions and policies about trying to protect them. It has been done not only in Türkiye, but all over the world. However, we have now seen that young people aged seventeen and under, who are experiencing and dealing with the events and problems of adolescence in the hospital, have started to become advanced patients to the extent that they can be hospitalized. Young people are paying the first price of the changing world here. They pay the consequences of the changing world during adolescence. This is a fact, and we must be aware of that."

"Their roots will be in the past, and they will build the future"

Stating that we need to preserve the essence of our traditions, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan underlined that there is a need for renovation, not reform. Tarhan said that "There is no need for reform because our truths are already correct. We do not have a problem in terms of faith; however, there is a serious need for re-evaluation and renewal on other issues. Newness is needed. It is necessary to go from tradition to the future and look at the conditions of this time. There is a saying of Ali (the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), and he says ‘Raise your children according to the age they will live in, not the age you live in.’ We are currently trying to raise our children according to the past age, not the age we live in. Quite the opposite, we are at the other end. It is necessary to raise them according to the age in which they will live in the future. Young people are breaking the mold. There is a need to build things in a new way, preserving the outlines of our culture. Innovative, entrepreneurial, agile, but ego-ideal, that is, their own roots will be from the past, and they will build the future. Generation Z will be a youth like that."

"We should set a good example for young people and set good goals"

Stating that the agents of influence on social media put young people under the influence of voluntary imperialism, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan underlined that young people should protect themselves. Tarhan expressed that "We have to set a good example for young people and set good goals. There are agents of influence on social media right now. With those agents of influence, social media is putting young people under the influence of voluntary imperialism. If our young people protect themselves from voluntary imperialism now, the future will be theirs. Since we are now in a free world, our young people will find the good and the bad by the state and their parents. Hence, they should set high goals and ideals that surpass them and compete with it. They should not compare themselves with anyone. For this reason, I think that young people who behave like this will win, but young people who do not behave like this and leave it to the flow of time will be thrown into the dustbins of history."

"Happiness is like a colored shadow..."

Stating that trust is formed as it is beneficial to people, Prof. Tarhan said that "Happiness is like a colored shadow, if you try to catch it, it will run away, but if you do your job, it will come after you. Therefore, as it is beneficial to people, trust is formed without realizing it. People are already coming and finding you. That is why a person will not put benefit, interest and money in the center of their life strategy. If one puts it in, one will remain like the dog trying to catch its tail. We will put the ideals of being a good and right person in the middle of life strategy. First, we need to change the program in our brains."

"People who have the ideal of doing something for the society they live in can produce good things"

Pointing out that every life event has two dimensions while experiencing stress, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "There is a threat dimension and an opportunity dimension. If we approach this pandemic with a threat dimension, we will close ourselves in. Here, what we call the bad world syndrome emerges. There are three pillars of the bad world syndrome. First, the person collapses and becomes depressed, and withdrawn. The second is that they are aggressive, and they are attacking everyone. The third is that some of these people are reckless, they let go, they let everything go, they leave life as if they have shifted the gear to neutral. For example, when a flood happens, there are three kinds of behavior. The first is, 'Why did this flood come? Why did it rain?' Unfortunately, it is very common in our culture. It is easy, so you put the fault on someone else, and then you become relax. The second approach is to let oneself to the flood and drown. They act like there is nothing to lose. The third approach is that you look for a log, hold on to it, and try to free yourself from that current. I am going to focus on how to turn this situation into an opportunity, but not to satisfy your ego. To achieve my high goals, I should not just do it for myself. A person who works only for oneself is bad. People who have the ideal of doing something for the society they live in, humanity, existence and creation can produce good things."

"Pessimist people cannot manage their future"

Giving advice to young people about future anxiety, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that a person who is pessimistic cannot manage their future. Tarhan said that "The first basic need to manage the future is a sense of hope. If there is an expectation of recovery and a sense of hope, there is nothing that a person cannot solve. There is a remedy for everything but death. Everything has a solution, or a way out. There will be a plan A, a plan B, and a plan C. A person with goals does sustainable business. That's why my biggest advice to young people is to have an ego ideal that will be worked for, suffered, sweated for, and tired for. Have high ideals about humanity. Currently, one has a success-oriented philosophy of life. Success, on the other hand, means a total success. It becomes apparent at the end of life. No one can say that I am successful or unsuccessful. The man who succeeds today may be the opposite tomorrow. For this reason, total success becomes evident at the end of life. It is just like the total quality in a factory."

“A world is emerging in a way that the number of people who want the world to revolve around themselves is rapidly increasing."

Noting that a person should determine their ideals well while realizing themselves, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that "We need to determine our social ideals and cultural ideals well. There are four main symptoms of California Syndrome. The first is hedonism, which is a philosophy of life that considers pleasure as the ego ideal. The second is narcissism, that is, self-centeredness. A world is emerging in which the number of people who want the world to revolve around themselves is rapidly increasing. Thirdly, loneliness because the biggest organ of the narcissistic system is the ego. They see everyone as second-class, or the other. When his wife is sick, he does not care, he says, 'I came into the world once, and I will live my life.' It comes down to that point. There is no word for sacrifice, and if he makes a sacrifice in their lexicon, he does it just for the sake of benefit. In other words, an interest-centered philosophy of life was formed. Fourth, unhappiness and depression have now emerged."

"Magic concept: Self-improvement"

Stating that the real freedom is the ability to be free from the malicious feelings within the person, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "The real freedom is not saying ‘Tear down your walls, break your chains, live your life!' The real freedom is to be free from the bad feelings within the person. The real freedom is the ability to be free from your desires and ambitions. To achieve that, you will have an ideal. The purpose creates the need, and the need creates the desire. Then, the desire creates the motivation, and you take action. That is why the magic concept here is that you will draw a roadmap that will have a high goal in self-realization, a high purpose, whatever you put at the center of your strategy is your value. If you put money at the center of your strategy, that becomes you, but if you put being virtuous, that becomes you. That's why human beings have free will."

"Whatever you put at the center of your strategic goal will shape your future"

Stating that the past generations matured in difficult times, and the new generations now have to mature in abundance, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "It is harder to mature in abundance right now. Despite all the precautions, suicide and addiction cases are increasing globally, that is, geometrically. The most important thing to do in such a situation is to manage to protect one's mental health. It is referred to as psychological resilience training. It is the phenomenon called psychological flexibility. You will be like rubber. The sponge absorbs and pulls stress, the Teflon pan burns the one who comes into contact with it, and nothing happens to it. Narcissistic people are like that, but in the end they are alone. There is also a rubber type person in stress management, who stretches and turns back to normal again. Be flexible in the face of events, learn something, come back to your old self. Therefore, do not be afraid of difficulty, aspire to difficulty. The most important thing I am saying is to aspire to the challenge and act by considering the opportunity dimension of every event that comes your way. There is a secret law of psychology, when good things are programmed into the human brain, it perceives good things more, events actually make good connections, good options come their way, and people make good decisions. If one acts out of fear, a person calls out what they fear more. The more a person acts out of hatred, the more that person calls out the things they hate. Human beings are made up of a mixture of negative and positive emotions. Do not ignore your negative emotions. Sadness is also unique to human beings. Also pain and grief... We are going to go through that; however, we will learn something from it later. Therefore, we will prepare for winter, but we will not wait for winter. After preparing for the winter, we will wait for the summer. If we can do this, we can better shape our future. Whatever you put at the center of your strategic goal will shape your future."

72 saplings in the name of Tarhan...

At the end of the online event, it was stated that 72 saplings will be planted in various parts of the university by Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University on behalf of President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan.

The online event ended after a group photo shoot.

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)