Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that fear of earthquakes (seismophobia) and subsequent acute stress disorder are natural reactions, but if unmanaged, they can severely degrade life quality, adding, “If a person mentally educates themselves on this matter, just like someone trained in fire safety knows what to do, panic is minimized.
Most losses result not from the disaster but from panic.” Prof. Dr. Tarhan pointed out that after an earthquake, some individuals' brains can get stuck in a 'constant danger' mode, emphasizing that symptoms such as sleep disturbance, inability to enter one's home, and excessive vigilance following denial, depression, and 'fight-flight-freeze' responses indicate the situation is becoming serious.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated, “All these are typical reactions that emerge in an acute stress situation, and these reactions are expected to resolve within a few hours or a few days.”
Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, evaluated the issue of earthquake fear.
Meaningful fear is beneficial
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that fear is actually a beneficial emotion that ensures our survival, saying, "Fear protects us from dangers, enables us to make correct and healthy decisions, and helps us develop ourselves. A defined and meaningful fear is beneficial."
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also expressed that unhealthy fears are generally irrational, disproportionate, and immoderate fears, stating, "The search for meaning, the quest for freedom, the need to alleviate loneliness, and the fear of not being able to explain death constitute existential fears. Uncertainty is the fundamental reason for these."
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that managing fear is not difficult at all, and that individuals can seek professional help when they cannot cope on their own.
"If we analyze events correctly and can change our prejudices and mental conditioning, it becomes clear that many fears are baseless. Being able to manage fear when making decisions is very important." Prof. Dr. Tarhan emphasized that fear can be managed if the brain eliminates uncertainty.
Brain fog related to long-term stress
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that the concept of "brain fog," frequently heard today, is related to long-term stress, saying, "Long-term stress causes the secretion of cortisol, a stress hormone, in the brain. This leads to a slowdown in the brain's mechanisms for understanding, comprehension, perception, and decision-making. A person's brain virtually operates in slow motion. Even without another psychiatric problem, only mental slowness is observed."
Prof. Dr. Tarhan expressed that in situations like burnout syndrome, individuals cannot manage chronic stress and feel helplessness, stating, "This situation arises in people who cannot manage the workload of life, responsibilities related to children, and cannot produce healthy solutions. The person who produces solutions, however, eliminates uncertainty in the brain. Eliminating uncertainty is one of humanity's basic needs."
Birth moment is the first fear experience for a baby
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that the moment of birth is the first fear experience for a baby, saying, "In the mother's womb, the baby doesn't even need to breathe; everything is ready. However, the body's mechanism is planned for after birth. After being born, the child's first sensation is fear, and the first reaction is crying. They immediately take refuge with their mother and relax. This is the moment when the basic sense of trust develops. Nothing can replace the warmth of the mother or a mother figure between the ages of 0-3."
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also touched upon studies in perinatal psychology, stating that babies born through normal delivery secrete less stress hormone in stress tests compared to those born via C-section, adding, "Normal birth is life's first hardship and makes children psychologically more resilient. Children born via C-section have more stress hormones."
Fear is a whip for humanity
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that negative life events can be considered "growth-inducing trauma," saying, "We measure this with post-traumatic growth scales. Did the person emerge from this trauma having learned something? In post-traumatic growth, new possibilities emerge, individuals re-evaluate human relationships, and recognize their personal strengths. They use radical acceptance for things beyond their control. This is the transformation of fear into a gain. Fear is a whip for humanity, an emotion that motivates and offers new areas of discovery. It is important to manage fear rather than being afraid of fear."
Childhood traumas are an important cause of today's fears
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that childhood traumas are an important factor in our current fears, saying, “Childhood traumas are a significant cause of our fears today. When we examine a person who fears furry objects, we see that the origin of this fear often stems from a negative experience involving a furry creature (or object) during childhood. The person may have consciously forgotten this event, but the experience can persist as a general fear of fur or furry objects. Addressing such fears and underlying traumas is of great importance for an individual's mental health and development. However, it should not be thought that traumas experienced in childhood are a 'lifelong destiny.' Because such effects are not genetic but epigenetic; meaning they can be changed and improved by environmental factors.”
Fear of earthquakes (seismophobia) severely degrades quality of life when unmanaged
Prof. Dr. Tarhan noted that fear of earthquakes (seismophobia) and subsequent acute stress disorder are natural reactions, but if unmanaged, they severely degrade quality of life, stating, "If a person mentally educates themselves on this matter, just like someone trained in fire safety knows what to do, panic is minimized. Most losses result not from the disaster but from panic."
Prof. Dr. Tarhan drew attention to the effectiveness of disaster education given to children aged 4-6 in Japan, saying, "These trainings are more difficult to learn in later ages. Preparing an earthquake kit is important, but the real issue is knowing what to do at that moment. Instead of saying, 'Let's not talk about earthquakes, it will harm the child's mental health,' scenarios like 'What will we do if there's an earthquake?' should be discussed with children, including preschoolers, and practiced at home. When a person knows what will happen, their fear ceases to be disproportionate. Fear is a natural emotion. Of course, we will be afraid. But mental preparation is very important."
Some people live as if there is a constant threat, constant danger
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that during an earthquake, the sympathetic nervous system in the brain is over-activated (pupil dilation, muscle tension, increased blood pressure), but after the danger passes, the parasympathetic system should kick in to provide relaxation, and continued:
“In some individuals, the parasympathetic nervous system does not activate. They live as if there is a constant threat, constant danger. In the face of a traumatic event, if the source of fear is uncertain, the initial reaction is usually denial or rejection. However, if the fear is based on a concrete and undeniable source like an earthquake, as a secondary reaction, the person may enter a depressive state related to the event. This situation can manifest as bursts of anger in some, and withdrawal in others. Subsequently, 'fight, flight, or freeze' responses can be observed in some individuals. Some may experience temporary speech paralysis or exhibit behaviors like jumping out of a window in panic. All these are typical reactions that emerge in an acute stress situation, and these reactions are expected to resolve within a few hours or a few days. However, if this situation disrupts a person's sleep pattern, if the person spends the majority of their time (e.g., 50 minutes out of an hour) thinking about the earthquake, or if 'flashbacks'—re-experiencing the event—are frequent (meaning they feel the event could happen again at any moment), if symptoms like inability to enter one's home, constantly being on edge, an exaggerated state of alertness called 'hypervigilance' appear, or if the person even becomes afraid to sleep, it means the situation has become serious."
Some people keep fear 'mummified' and constantly alive in their lives
Prof. Dr. Tarhan explained that intense fear can virtually disrupt the 'program' in the brain, stating the following:
“If this situation does not affect daily life activities, especially within the first month (or up to 8 weeks according to some views), it is not considered an illness. During this period, medication is usually not necessary; on the contrary, this stress is expected to be experienced and processed to some extent. In fact, this stress can turn into an opportunity for the individual to gain new perspectives, think differently, attach new meanings to events, perform deep analyses, and develop themselves by noticing small details. The individual's positive or negative approach to the event and their way of making sense of it determine the course of this process. Generally, this situation resolves within 6-8 weeks, and the person returns to normal life. What is healthy during this process is to 'miniaturize' fear, that is, to manage it by making it smaller. However, some people cannot miniaturize fear; instead, they 'mummify' it, keeping it constantly alive in their lives. In these individuals, the situation indicates a fear with a known source rather than an obsession with an uncertain object, which usually leads to avoidance behaviors. Continuous thought repetitions are observed; this situation is more in the form of 'rumination,' which can be negative or sometimes positive in content. The person constantly thinks about the same issue. In obsession, the person is aware that their thoughts are absurd, but in rumination, they believe their thoughts and continuously cycle them in their mind. That is something that tires the brain greatly. It is natural for such reactions to last about 6-8 weeks. At the end of this period, the person is expected to continue their life with post-traumatic growth gains. If this cannot be achieved, professional help should be sought."
Istanbul's "crazy project" should be urban transformation
Prof. Dr. Tarhan, who argued that Istanbul's "crazy project" should primarily be urban transformation, stated, "Currently, approximately 70% of the buildings were constructed before 2000 and have a high potential for risk. Leadership and a serious future projection are essential in this regard."
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that differing expert opinions on earthquakes, divided into "catastrophizers" and "those who say the danger has passed," confuse people and lead to misinformation, adding, "While experts should sit down among themselves and produce solutions, everyone is saying something different. It is necessary to act and think rationally."
Humans cannot get used to living as if an earthquake will happen at any moment
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that society tends to forget traumas over time (like the February 6th earthquakes), saying, "Instead of ignoring fear, it is necessary to 'miniaturize' it and ensure the continuity of society. Statements like 'It could be a 7.4 tomorrow' are 'mummifying' fear, and one cannot live with such fear. One cannot get used to living with a snake in a room. Humans cannot get used to living as if an earthquake will happen at any moment. Seeing that administrators take the job seriously and have made plans, for example, steps like the Ministry of Urbanization's building assessment studies, increases people's sense of trust, minimizes panic behavior, and eliminates uncertainty about the future."
Fear of earthquakes can lead to an increase in forensic and psychiatric cases
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that fear of earthquakes can lead to an increase in forensic and psychiatric cases and can undermine the fundamental sense of trust in society, saying, "If there is a sense of trust, people overcome problems more easily by believing 'there is a solution to this'."
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that the first coping method is positive psychology, explaining, "This approach is based on affirming events and being able to assign meaning to them. Every event has both a threat dimension and an opportunity dimension. Seeing the threat dimension but focusing on the opportunity dimension, accepting facts, setting goals, and developing strategies is the best way to manage fear. We call this ‘radical acceptance’; accepting it and turning it into an opportunity."
We all have things within and beyond our power
Prof. Dr. Tarhan noted that the second important method is religious coping, stating, "We all have things within and beyond our power. In such situations, a person needs a mental refuge: to be part of a greater meaning, a value, a creator. Believing that events in the universe are not coincidental, that the world has an owner just as a ship has a captain, allows a person to find solace using these methods when their power is insufficient. Empathy is a product of the sense of conscience. No one without a sense of conscience can empathize. In selfish people, the sense of conscience atrophies. In events like earthquakes, individuals who use religious coping methods can sometimes be overly self-sacrificing in this regard. Excessively disproportionate reactions can also occur. People who have trained themselves to remain calm under stress take leadership roles in these events. They calm their families and their surroundings. It requires a bit of mental effort." he concluded.