Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "The phenomenon of suicide is an extension of depression"

President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan attended the "Prevention of Suicidal Behavior and Psychosocial Support" Seminar organized by the Social Services and Health Department of the Istanbul General Directorate of Security. Drawing attention to the basic emotions that lead people to commit suicide, Tarhan said that suicide cases are a situation that has been happening all over the world in recent years. Mentioning that there is hopelessness and pessimism in the background of suicidal ideation, Tarhan stated that professional awareness studies are very important. Tarhan emphasized that people's mental health can be strengthened with positive psychology against suicides, which he expressed as an extension of depression.

President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan met with the security forces working within the General Directorate of Security. In the online event, what can be done to prevent suicide cases was discussed.

"Suicide cases are a situation that has been happening all over the world in recent years"

Talking about the basic emotions that push people to commit suicide, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that "Suicide cases have been happening all over the world in recent years. There are many reasons for this. Occupational stress and trauma have an impact. There are psychological, social-economic factors. Apart from the most common workload, events such as exposure to traumatic events, violence, death, accidents. We come across cases that are on the verge of suicide. We see that the problems with leadership in those people attract a lot of attention. In other words, there are leadership problems where he works. If there is oppressive leadership, it increases stress. Group stress occurs. Individuals are stressed. Some people cannot manage their stress, they start to say, 'Living is in vain, meaningless', or if there is an indifferent leadership, the employee's trust in the workplace weakens. When trust weakens, people worry about the future. He feels kind of threatened. Introversion is emerging.”

The leader who can recognize the early symptoms can also prevent suicides

Drawing attention to the early symptoms of suicide in his speech, Prof. Tarhan expressed that "There is transformational leadership in leadership. It relieves stress. Transformational leaders work in a leadership style that takes people into the group and transforms them into a good point and deals with the capillaries of the whole group. Thus, it is not in an imperious leadership style. There is a leadership style that has been around for centuries in our culture. In the imperious leadership style, in the authoritarian leadership style, in the commanding style. In the workplace, such imperious roles are formed, which have been around for centuries. There are preliminary signs of suicide. If the leader notices those early signs, it is easy to take action. To be able to recognize those early signs is like this, imagine a flock and a shepherd. When he looks at the flock and notices a limping, low-headed, sick sheep, he immediately attends to it. As such, there will be less occurrence in that herd. In the same way, a leader must dominate the people he leads. The early symptoms of suicide are as follows:

Warning signs of suicide:

• The person begins to withdraw.
• Engages in risky behaviors.
• Uses substances.
• Drives dangerously.
• Neglects personal care.
• Starts to scatter their belongings.
• Begins to act as if going on a long journey.
• Sleep patterns are disrupted.
• Lives without a plan.
• Collects medications. All of these are signs of suicide.

People who feel lonely are much more likely to attempt suicide!

Tarhan also made evaluations about how to approach someone who has suicidal thoughts: "Many of the early symptoms are feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness and guilt. For example, if he says, pay attention. 'I do not want to live anymore, I would prefer death. There is no point in living. I do not want to be a burden to anyone. I wish it all came to an end. The world would be better without me.' They joke, 'You will never see me again.' Instead of taking them seriously and saying why are you committing suicide in such situations, it is necessary to talk to them in conversation without panicking. People who feel lonely are much more likely to attempt suicide..."

There is despair and pessimism in the background...

Reminding that the leaders' dominance of the group can prevent suicidal behavior, Tarhan said that "Stress is of two kinds. There is individual stress and there is group stress. In group stress, there are frequent visits. Apart from frequent visits, arguments also increase. As you know, in management, different people proceed in a similar way. If there is a leadership that says, ‘Everyone will think like me, everyone will be like me,’ this is totalitarian leadership. This leadership style does not apply in either the military culture or the police security culture. We will accept people as they are, but we will make the goal one. And we're going to make sure that we act in a similar way. For this, vision work is required. Supervisors and managers, who are leaders, need to dominate the team. When he dominates the team, he catches the clues about suicide very easily. It looks to see if there is a personality change. If there is a personality change that lasts more than three days, it is considered risky behavior. There are also emotional symptoms such as hopelessness and pessimism. In the background of suicidal ideation is hopelessness and pessimism. They have feelings of feeling worthless, of feeling guilty..."

"Where there is teamwork, there is no group stress"

Stating that the profession can be performed better when the leader is trusted, Tarhan said that "Where there is teamwork, there is no group stress. Individual problems are solved in some way within the group. Security is as important in internal security as it is in external security. In other words, being able to trust the leader enables people to perform their profession better. The police profession is a profession that constantly follows the evils in the field, questions and investigates crimes. This profession is really a difficult one. Those who enter this profession also receive special training. Police academies are currently providing very good training. It provides theoretical training, but practical training is also learned through the master-apprentice relationship. It is being learned in the field. That's why it is important for seniors here to be able to help young people."

"Those who manage to stay positive do not become pessimistic, and they do not feel lonely"

Stating that they strengthen people's mental health with positive psychology, Tarhan said that "There are existential suicides. These suicides are in the form of intellectual depression. In other words, the person says, 'I have tasted everything in life, I have experienced everything. Nothing makes sense. There is no point in me living anymore.' This is especially seen in people with low spirituality. There is a suicide epidemic in the West right now. In the UK, the death rate among young people aged 16 to 24 is higher than in accidents. The death rate by suicide has increased. Against the suicide epidemic, the University of Bristol introduced courses in positive psychology. As Üsküdar University, we have been offering positive psychology courses since 2013. Instead of saying do not do this, do not do that, we are working to strengthen people's mental health. We reinforce the positives without dealing with the negative. Because those who manage to stay positive do not fall into despair and pessimism, do not feel alone. Even when one hits rock bottom, a person can see threats as opportunities. In positive psychology, we teach people to reveal the positive aspects in negative events and use them for their goals."

We are not a society that will collapse and fall apart due to economic traumas!

Stating that problems can be solved by strengthening the psychological immune system, Tarhan said that "More important than the information conferences on suicide is to strengthen their positive immune system, their psychological immune system. Just as the immune system is strong in an internal disease, the body defeats the disease on its own. We have a psychological immune system. When we strengthen the psychological defenses of the person, when we increase the ego power, when we develop the psychological resources, the person overcomes the problem himself, there is no need for others. This is currently being used all over the world. If we make this training a part of routine training, we can be sure that we will have a happier employee and waste will be reduced. Suicides and deaths are decreasing. In other words, visits to diseases related to this are reduced. In fact, Anatolian wisdom also suggests this. If we combine our culture and science, we can solve many problems easily. There is no need to be hopeless or pessimistic. There are economic difficulties, there are professional difficulties, but these are not insurmountable difficulties. The economy has been in crisis from time to time and has recovered, but it would be fooling ourselves to say that this is the only reason. Ours is a trauma society, a society accustomed to trauma. That is why we are not a society that will collapse and fall apart due to economic traumas. Let's not be hopeless and pessimistic.”

Those who do not despair always have a way out...

Mentioning that professional awareness studies are very important, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "Usually there are information trainings on the job. Apart from the informative trainings, the most important thing is to carry out professional awareness activities here. For example, to raise awareness about the symptoms of suicide in individuals, to provide information about intervention methods. In other words, the university sent a suicide prevention project to all the World Health Organization Parliaments of the world years ago and focused on the suicide prevention project. These projects can be implemented. Crisis lines can be established. If there is suicide on the bridges, suicide prevention lines can be set up there. In other words, in such a case, it can be determined what the friends in charge there will do. It is a private ambulance, and it is special training. Special work is being done to persuade them, and it is very important to instill hope. It is necessary to offer alternative solutions. A person who does not despair always has a way out. Because our brains are programmed accordingly. Those who are not hopeless and pessimistic can always find a way out."

The phenomenon of suicide is an extension of depression...

Drawing attention to the four items made in the suicide evaluation, Tarhan concluded his remarks as follows: "The phenomenon of suicide is an extension of depression. There are studies conducted in cerebrospinal fluid in depression. In the 1980s, with normal death, cerebrospinal fluid was removed from the death of suicide. In deaths by suicide, the serotonin metabolite substance in the cerebrospinal fluid is 15 times less in suicide death. No one who is going to commit suicide commits suicide just because of it. Crisis suicides are rare. In other words, when we make an assessment about suicide, we look at the following four items: "Suicidal ideation, suicidal desire, suicidal intent, and suicide plan." If these are present, thought is not enough. Thought, intention, desire, plan, after that, the initiative emerges. If there have been attempts in the past, they are severe cases. A person can talk about death, but he has no intention of dying. It is one thing to talk about death, and it is another to want to die. Therefore, the possibility of suicide should be taken into account in everyone's mind map."

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)