Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "Obsession is like an uninvited guest"

President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan met with Medipol University Faculty of Medicine students. In the online interview, Tarhan made remarkable evaluations on the subject of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Stating that obsession is like an uninvited guest, Tarhan pointed out that these people are perfectionists and detail-oriented. Stating that anxiety is the most important symptom accompanying OCD, Tarhan stated that people with generalized anxiety disorder can become prone to OCD because they cannot manage their thoughts.

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan met with the students of the Faculty of Medicine...

In the interview organized by the Faculty of Medicine and the European Integration and Medicine Club, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, who said that obsessive people are perfectionists and detail-oriented, made striking evaluations about the disease. Tarhan stated that "These people are people who have a high level of expectation both about themselves and about life. They miss the dose of perfectionism. The formation of obsessions is seen as a situation called misgivings among the people. Obsession is like an uninvited guest. If an uninvited guest knocks on the door, an uninvited person you do not know will come in. In fact, it will hurt you, something unrealistic. Therefore, we should not let obsession into our homes. The moment we get it, we have to take care of it. And when you are interested, it grows, and that is what it wants. Therefore, when this obsession first comes to mind, it provides our stance towards it and our behavior towards it. And this has to do with the neurobiological mechanism...”

"Targeted detail leads to success"

In his speech, Tarhan pointed out that the goal-oriented detail leads the person to success and expressed that "Success is in the details, and the devil is in the details. Thus, how does this happen? Academic success conference givers say success is in the details. On the one hand, you look at obsessive people, and they show that the devil is also in the details. In fact, if the trick here is purposeful detail, one has a goal in their life. If there is a target-oriented detail, that detail will achieve success. One sees what no one else knows. It reaches a knowledge and leads to that success. Therefore, it is very important that it is purposeful when managing thought. People who have an important priority in their life do not easily get caught up in obsession. Even if they are caught up, they manage, even if they are obsessive. The success of perfectionists is very closely related to the fact that those pyramids of importance are correct."

"They know it is ridiculous, but they cannot help it..."

Pointing out that people with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder accept this as normal and reject opposing views, Prof. Tarhan said that "People with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder are aware of their obsessions; however, they do not believe opposing views. When you say it is a disease, they do not accept it. They do not believe it, but they stay in the bathroom for hours. They wash their hands for hours. It is like they accept it as normal. This becomes the obsessive-compulsive personality. They have established a balance themselves. However, when it becomes obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, the person knows it is ridiculous, but they cannot fix it. Therefore, it is a really difficult inconvenience. Especially, there is this obsession with cleanliness, obsession with contagion, obsession with aggression, obsession with counting. One constantly counts license plates, counts paving stones, counts walls. They become unable to do anything other than count them."

From helicopter mother to drone mother...

Drawing attention to the excessive control of the parents, Tarhan said that this situation creates a fear of making mistakes in the child. Tarhan stated that "We apply obsessive-compulsive disorder on the scale of childhood trauma. On the scale of childhood trauma were physical abuse, physical neglect, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and sexual abuse. Recently, excessive control has also been added. Children of overprotective parents became overprotective and controlling. Since the mother does everything, the child develops a fear of making mistakes. It interferes with what the child eats and drinks. We used to call it helicopter mother, now we call it drone mother. The mother is overly controlling. She even wonders about the child's dream."

"The person who can manage stress manages most of the diseases"

Emphasizing that it is very important to manage stress to prevent OCD from recurring, Prof. Tarhan stated that "Under stress, some people turn to addiction, some get OCD, some have an upset stomach, or some have a reaction in their skin. It is all about the genetic background. Therefore, the person who can manage stress manages most of the diseases. It is very important to manage stress so that OCD does not recur. This is how they determine their stress group. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a really difficult disease, but it is a disease that we have been successful in treating. We carry out three step treatment. Duties to be performed by the doctor, the patient and their relatives. Relatives also feed the disease without realizing it. If a person catastrophizes the disease on their own, the disease increases more for them. For this reason, thought management is essential in OCD."

"Lack of moral norms leads to personality disorders"

Emphasizing that moral norms should be in place, on time and in dose, Tarhan stated that "Since the new generations are more libertarian, it is easier for them to fight against obsession because they easily object to and question obsession. Thus, when they put too much pressure on themselves, this obsession sticks to them. The whole is becoming a disease. When it is over-released, this time social destruction occurs. Therefore, the dose is important. In moral norms, the norms of torturing oneself are harmful to the person. The lack of norms and moral norms also leads to personality disorders. It leads to other addictions, to various substance uses. Therefore, moral norms must be in place, on time and in dose. Because a person's overly regulated life is too strict. When it is too loose, it leads to personality disorders."

"When you control your desires and impulses, you are free"

Stating that the real freedom is to be free from desires and impulses, Tarhan said that "Moral norms are nice, but social and emotional skills are required to enforce them appropriately, on time and in dose. It is necessary to find out. True freedom is not ‘Break the chains, tear down the walls, release the desires.’ The real freedom is to release desires. The real freedom is to be free from desires and impulses. When you control your desires and impulses, you are free. Anyone who thinks about short-term happiness can fall into pleasure traps. Anyone who thinks about medium and long-term happiness manages not to fall into pleasure traps. In other words, the person can control their desires."

"Anxiety is the most important symptom accompanying OCD"

Talking about the effects of anxiety on OCD, Tarhan said that "Anxiety is the most important symptom that accompanies OCD. People with generalized anxiety disorder are more prone to OCD because they cannot manage their thoughts. That is why the person cannot easily manage their thoughts. Generalized anxiety disorder is a condition that accompanies OCD, as they cannot manage it. Most obsessive situations begin to turn into schizophrenia. The person is not able to recover. The network in the brain is disrupted. In the brain, the thinking brain, the feeling brain, the decision-making brain should work like an orchestra; however, it cannot."

"OCD should not be seen as a problem, it can be considered as an opportunity..."

Emphasizing that obsessive compulsive disorder can be considered as an opportunity, Tarhan said that “Obsessive compulsive disorder is something that controls a person. If you manage it correctly, it increases the psychological defenses of the person and strengthens the basic personality structure of the person. Disorder should not be seen as a problem, and in such cases, we will strengthen ourselves when we see it as an opportunity to improve ourselves and manage the obsession."

"The best way to fight the disease is not to pay attention to thoughts"

Stating that the disease changes shape as you fight the disease, Tarhan expressed that "The best way to fight the disease is not to pay attention to thoughts. If you pay attention, the disease is fed. If you do not pay attention to it, that is, if you see it small, it shrinks, if you see it big, it grows. Therefore, when a thought comes, it should be able to change the focus of attention and direct themselves to another subject by saying, 'This is not a real threat, it is erroneous thoughts, parasitic thoughts caused by the disease.'"

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)