New year is an opportunity to stop, think and start over!
Stating that the new year should be considered as an important opportunity to stop, think and start over, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that human beings come to the world with a set of abilities, unlike other beings, and said that thanks to these abilities, the person becomes open to development. Noting that the human brain has an extremely neuroplasticity feature, that is, it is an organ that is very open to change and adaptation, Tarhan said, “The areas of the brain that are invested in are growing and developing. Our brain develops and improves itself according to that plasticity. In other words, we definitely need to want it and aim for it to improve yourself with that plasticity.”.
President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that the new year is an important opportunity for a person to evaluate themselves and their life.
Strengths and weaknesses should be evaluated
Noting that it is necessary to "stop, think, start over" in this new year, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “At the beginning of the new year, it is necessary to stop and think and judge the past. It is important for a person to be able to analyze how they spent the year, what they did, what they could not do and what they gained. It is necessary to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the person, such as a psychological SWOT analysis, what opportunities there are in their life for the future, what threats there are, the potential for difficulties, and evaluate them. A person must re-plan.”.
We have to observe ourselves and set new goals
Stating that that a person is not just a living being with physical and biological needs, Tarhan said, “Humans also have features such as thought, search for meaning, symbolic thought and conceptual thinking. It is important to enable these features in this period. Happiness taught by classical modernism has been reduced to the pursuit of pleasure. However, happiness comes after that person when a person pursues meaning in ideal happiness. Happiness is like a shadow. This is the ideal happiness, Socrates also says. One needs to invest in happiness. That's why it is renewed when a person observes themselves, restructures their goals, and refreshes their data on special days like New Year's Day. As you reset the computer, it shuts down, and from time to time, one has to restart themselves.”.
Psychological check-up is a very high point of view
Stating that knowing the value of one's possessions has an important place in positive psychology, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Appreciating what one has is something that we teach in positive psychotherapy, in psychological resilience education. If a person does not appreciate some things, if they think 'get more to get better', that is, if they live seriously greedily and irresponsibly, they harm themselves. What we call psychological well-being or psychological check-up is the ability to screen ourselves and then say, 'I was doing it wrong, I should not do it.’ I think this is a very valuable and high point of view.”.
Without the anterior region of the brain, there would be no civilization.
Expressing that the anterior part of the brain can be described as the captain of the ship, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Having this is unique to humans. It is the frontal lobe that makes a person human. It is the anterior region of the brain. Without this, there would be no civilization. There are executive functions here. It is important for the person to have a bird's eye view of themselves, to see themselves from above, to realize their weak and strong sides, to have a level of transcendence, that is, to be able to transcend themselves. The person says, 'I'm fine, I know, I'll do anything. If they say 'I am a lion, I am a tiger', they are making the biggest mistake of their life.".
We must achieve to have a mind that is not the object of others
Pointing out that self-questioning has positive effects on the development of a person, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Therefore, we are taking a step towards self-development and maturation. Here, one finds themselves with their own mind. The mind here is not the mind used by others, but the mind that can be itself. To be the subject of their life, not the object. It needs to be achieved and aimed at being a mind that is not the object of others.”.
Our brains are very open to change and adapt
Noting that it is also important for a person to be able to enjoy the simple work they do, to see the difficulties they experience as a gift and to interpret them as an opportunity to improve themselves, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “One has to want them. There is also another feature of the human brain: The human brain has a very neuroplasticity feature, that is, it is very open to change and adaptation. Our brain is an organ of experience. It is constantly being reformed for the rest of our lives.”.
The human brain is programmed to evolve
Noting that human beings come to the world with a set of abilities, unlike other beings, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that a person becomes open to development that thanks to these abilities. Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Imagine a valley. If you look at a part of the valley and water it, it becomes verdant. The side that you do not water and leave without care turns yellow after a while. In other words, the region you invest in is developing. The brain is just like this valley. Investment areas are growing and developing. Our brain develops and improves itself according to that plasticity. In other words, we must not want it and aim for it to improve yourself with that plasticity.”.
The set of abilities needs to be used for high goal
Stating that the brain is also an organ of change, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Since the brain has neuroplasticity, it is very open to development. That's why tiring the brain with routine works all the time harms it. It's like using a high-capacity PC just for gaming. It's wasted. For this reason, humans have been given a very beautiful set of innate abilities. It is necessary to use it to reach a high goal. It is necessary to use it to reach a high goal such as what is the meaning of life and what existence is. Opportunities are given to the person. Some people call it luck. There really is no such thing as luck. Luck is the intersection of reason and opportunity. It is something that comes your way if you use your mind and wait for your opportunity.”.
Preventive studies that protect mental health are golden
Emphasizing the importance of psychological hygiene for psychological well-being and strength, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “There is primary and secondary protection in the protection of mental health. The primary protection is to take measures to prevent the person from getting sick. The secondary protection is to do what is necessary for early detection. The third one is to do what is necessary and take precautions so that the disease does not happen again after the disease has recovered. It is not enough to focus only on treatment in psychiatry. That's why studies on maintaining mental health are golden.".
Modernism only make us play the role of happiness…
Stating that positive psychology aims to increase the quality of life, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “The classical understanding of psychology corrects the problem and brings the negative to zero. Positive psychology raises from the negative to above zero. It makes people positive. It increases the quality of life and increases the state of well-being we want. Anyone who manages to live happily in this way does not relapse, however, a neutral person can get the disorder again. It takes mental effort, endeavor and investment to live happily. This is actually not difficult at all. You will spend some time; you will benefit from a few experiences and you will get help from a good person. The philosophy about happiness can be easily changed. Modernism only makes us play the role of happiness. Happiness is a process, not a goal. Happiness is being on the road when you are on the road. Happiness comes naturally when you take that path.”.
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)