Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Occupational Therapy, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Sevda Asqarova, organized the event titled 'Special Guest Page in Occupational Therapy: How to Focus in a World Full of Distraction?'. Berna Pınar Tunç, Director and lead coach of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), who participated as a speaker in the program, stated that attention circuits are triggered by emotions and that attention works very closely with emotions. Tunç also drew attention to the fact that our brain steals energy to cope with anxiety.
“Individuals have a problem with inability to focus”
Berna Pınar Tunç stated that she observed a problem with inability to focus, especially in the executives and students she works with; “We can see that distraction is particularly on the rise during these troubled days. This is a problem I also experience. It happens to me just like it happens to everyone. For example, I start a project, but I have to put in more effort than usual to complete it. There can be information realized with existing intentions and factors that distract us when we are about to realize them. Currently, there is anxiety about the future and an effort we make to make sense of what is happening. Experiencing is very important. Attention is related to emotions. Therefore, eliminating distractions is a solution. Because I observe a problem with individuals’ inability to focus.” She said.
“Our brain steals energy to cope with anxiety”
Tunç, stating that the human brain is created to cope with threats, said; “We use the same resources for focus and social relationships. This steals from the energy we would spend to complete a task. We also spend energy in social life, and the brain comes into play there again. We can think of it like losing weight. With hunger awareness, whatever we eat starts to be stored. That’s why you can’t lose weight by not eating at all. You need to eat everything. Breaking perception and anxiety management are similar. If we prepare our attention sufficiently in advance, we can focus on what we want. ‘What am I doing?’, ‘How am I doing?’, ‘Do you have existing answers for the actual situation you are in?’ are very important questions. Our brain steals energy to cope with anxiety; let’s not allow this.”
“Attention circuits are triggered by emotions”
Berna Pınar Tunç, pointing out that attention and focus have a close relationship with emotions, said; “For example, internal factors include; mental states, interests, motivational factors, physical condition, and mindset. Having heard my voice before allows you to focus on me in a crowd. Attention works very closely with emotions. It also involves motivation. When continuous attention is in question, pleasure emotions come into play. Motivation is important among all these. An individual cannot focus on anything when their physical condition is not comfortable. All circuits keep us upright. The brain decides where and when to use different types of attention. Something never seen before draws attention. Colors, contrasts, and emotional load, as external factors, either focus or distract attention. Attention circuits are triggered by emotions.”