Tarhan: "The greatest erosion of value is in the sense of compassion and respect"

President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist and Writer Prof. Nevzat Tarhan met with book lovers at the 5th Ümraniye Book Fair. Tarhan, who gave an interview under the title of "Psychology Talks", then signed his books for his readers. Pointing out that happiness cannot be bought with money, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that when the diagnosis is wrong, the treatment is also wrong. Underlining that humanity has lost its meaning in an environment where materialism has become so widespread, Tarhan drew attention to the global crisis. Tarhan also noted that the greatest erosion of values is in the sense of compassion and respect.

Ümraniye Book Fair, which was held at the Santral Event Area, opened its doors to book lovers for the 5th time this year with the theme of 'It is Time for a Book'. At the fair, which was attended by more than 100 publishing houses, more than 200 authors met with their readers for 9 days.

Author Prof. Nevzat Tarhan also met with his readers in this context. In the interview, which started under the moderation of journalist Şaban Özdemir, Tarhan shared important posts under the title of "Psychology Talks".

"Suicide and addiction are increasing the most"

Emphasizing the increasing evil in the global sense, Tarhan drew attention to the deterioration in moral norms. Tarhan stated that "Suicide and addiction are increasing the most. There are increases in society, crime is increasing, violence is increasing. There is a deterioration in moral norms in society. There is an increase in evil. This situation has both become visible and increased proportionally. This is a global situation not only in Türkiye but also in Türkiye. This is the greatest danger facing humanity at the moment. That is, the deterioration of moral norms, the growth of evil. Evil is increasing. With the increase of evil, people are losing peace. Trust is deteriorating and suicide is increasing, failures are increasing, violence is increasing. There is such a global crisis," 

"The greatest erosion of value is in the sense of compassion"

Stating that there is an erosion in the feelings of respect and compassion, Tarhan said that "The sense of compassion among people has diminished. Where the sense of compassion decreases, the lack of empathy appears. People start to get lonely. They become lonely and trust weakens among people. The family is a home of trust. When the relationship of trust between people in the family is disrupted, it loses its shelter feature. The greatest erosion of value exists in the sense of compassion and respect. Another erosion is the sense of respect. People's respect for each other is more ruthless, and the number of people who do not care about someone else's rights and laws is increasing. The decline in respect and the decrease in compassion are the eroded values in the increase of many evils. These two features are increasing globally.”

“Where there is arrogance, people's sense of entitlement is directed towards themselves."

Emphasizing that there is a connection between the weakening of conscientious norms and evil, Tarhan stated that "Until recently, our culture protected the family, but now globally, the guardianship of the family has weakened. In other words, there are legal, social and conscientious norms that protect society. Legal norms are laws and rules. The second is social norms, traditions. It was not a crime in the law, but it also respected someone else's right. At the moment, it has become quite weak. Thirdly, moral norms have weakened. Conscience determines moral norms. A weakening of the sense of conscience, a weakening of compassion, and a weakening of the sense of shame are examples of these. This leads to a weakening of the social society. These are the reasons for the increase in the mental crises and evils that appear at the moment, their weakening. Selfishness is increasing. Where selfishness increases, arrogance appears. Where there is arrogance, people's sense of entitlement is directed towards themselves."

"The virus is obvious: hedonism..."

Stating that people choose to pursue pleasure as their life purpose, Tarhan expressed that "With the increase of self-centeredness, empathy decreases. There is a lack of empathy, compassion is decreasing, evil is increasing. In other words, the sense of solidarity is lost in people. Their increase leads to an increase in many diseases, especially depression. There is an increase in depression in America right now. The level of prosperity is so high, why is this depression increasing? They are investigating whether there is a virus. In fact, the virus is obvious, the virus of hedonism... People have chosen the pursuit of pleasure as their reason for living. That is, they chose the pursuit of pleasure as the ego ideal. 'What I like is good, what I don't like is bad. The measure that says 'what is inference is good, and what is not inference is bad.' Social norms and measures have changed. In Germany, two husbands and wives over the age of 70 commit suicide by turning on the gas. They left a note before committing suicide. As a reason, it says, 'For three and a half months, no one knocked on our door except the concierge.' The biggest problem in the West right now is loneliness. All of this leads people to unhappiness. You cannot buy happiness with money. Money cannot buy happiness. Therefore, when the diagnosis is wrong, the treatment is also wrong. In an environment where materialism has become so widespread, humanity has lost its meaning."

“The younger generation catches up with innovation better"

Expressing his hope from the Z generation, Tarhan said that "Right now, the new generation is paying attention to the family. New generations are questioning and want to improve. There is a youth who is criticized as Generation Z, I am very hopeful at that point. They seem to be a little conformist, a little too self-conscious, but there is a search for justice, there is a search for innocence. They are open to innovation, they question. They will change us. They are the saviors. Our generations are a bit static. That is why the younger generation catches up with innovation better."

"Staying in the dark too much causes seasonal depression"

Referring to the importance of light for mood, Tarhan said that "Staying in the dark too much causes seasonal depression. This is seen in those who are predisposed, not everyone does it. Some people have a genetic predisposition, they become depressed, and their solution is done with light therapy. White light negatively affects the brain. If you go to bed with the TV on at night, the brain cannot secrete melatonin. When it is dark, the brain releases melatonin. Melatonin is called neuroprotective, it is the protector of the brain. It both gives sleep and repairs the brain. Therefore, night sleep is the gold standard, and it is very important. The young people of today go to bed late and wake up late, day and night are mixed up..."

"The greatest gift to be given to a child is to spend time with them"

Tarhan advised parents to spare enough time for children and to be companions on the path of life and stated that "The greatest gift to be given to a child is for the mother and father to take their time. Spending time together, chatting. To be a companion on the path of life. In other words, not to take the child in front of us and correct them, but to take him with us and walk together. When we do this, we raise such beautiful children that the child feels that he belongs to the family and feels free. Be sure that this child will be the child who endures the difficulties in life. It is the child who says, ‘This is my idea.’ He will be the child who goes after what he wants with determination but respects his parents. Respects family values. It is not difficult at all to raise this, but it is necessary to think about it. All of this pill information is very useful to you. Use it."

“The psychological equivalent of stubbornness is rigidity of thought"

Referring to mental flexibility and three forms of stress, Tarhan said that "The psychological equivalent of stubbornness is rigidity of thought. The most stubborn people are selfish. The cannot perform mental flexibility. For example, what is the formula for good muscles in our body? Is not it that muscles are flexible? The more flexible our muscles and body are, the healthier it is. It is the same in our soul. If it is flexible, it is healthy. This is called 'psychological resilience' in psychology. Its Turkish equivalent is to be flexible. There are three approaches to stress. The first is the type A personality. These are sponge-type people. The sponge absorbs. These type A people are always negative. They always see flaws. They are always complaining and unhappy. The second type of people are Teflon people with rigidity of thought. Teflon pan, you know, does not stretch, does not stick. Teflon itself does not burn, but it burns whoever comes into contact with it. These people are selfish and self-interested, they are not flexible at all. They are comfortable themselves, but they hurt and hurt their relatives. When the Teflon pan is scratched, you throw it in the trash, it is useless. Because it is inflexible. These people are also left alone. These are type B people, selfish, self-interested, reckless, non-quarrelsome. Third parties are also rubber type persons. These are known as type C personalities. Type C person has 'cognitive flexibility'. They have flexibility. They yawn, they learn something, they get back to their old self. You have been stressed, you have had an incident. You will say what this event has taught me, learn something and look forward. When you do this, it relaxes our muscles with exercise, if it provides our physical health, it also makes our soul flexible and creates psychological resilience by learning something again and restoring it. Like muscle strength, psychological resilience also creates flexible thinking."

Answering the questions of the readers, Prof. Tarhan signed his books for the readers in the book signing hall after the interview.

Readers' interest in Tarhan was intense

The readers, who had their books signed by Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, also had the opportunity to chat with Tarhan and take photos.

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)