Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, was a guest on TV Journalist Emel Özuğur's Instagram live broadcast. Tarhan made evaluations regarding the causes and treatment methods of obsessions, anxiety disorders, and feelings of guilt; “If a person seeking treatment is intelligent, they grasp what we say quickly, but if they are stubborn, they challenge us greatly. People reach such a point that they feel as if there is a second person inside them. This applies to all obsessions. If the person knows it's an illness, treatment is easy; if not, it's difficult. We can carry out our treatments with long-term sessions, as well as by conducting DNA analysis and prescribing medication. We are doing this for the first time in Turkey,” he said.
“Emotion; was previously seen as the domain of poets, writers”
Tarhan stated that the foundation of happiness in life is ‘finding balance’; “In positive psychology, this is called ‘alignment,’ its English equivalent, which we can translate as ‘full side alignment’ in Turkish. Another equivalent in Turkish, like the close-order drill in the military, is a rhythm of life within such an order, the ability to move at a certain distance from others, maintaining that distance; this is what ‘alignment’ is called. When a screen appears on a computer, alignment is performed; it's called alignment, distance adjustment, screen adjustment...etc. Similarly, our alignment ability has been disrupted with Covid. In fact, it was disrupted even before Covid; now it's completely broken. Alignment, or we can call it the ability to align, the ability to align relationships. So, how does this happen? This issue is about managing our emotions. This skill has also recently entered the scope of neuroscience, science. In the 1990s, a book on emotional intelligence was written, stating that emotions constitute a scientific category, and a psychological revolution followed. Previously, emotion was seen as the domain of poets and writers. Now there are topics such as emotion and managing emotion, emotional literacy, reading the emotions of others, reading one's own emotions, and regulating them. I looked at all the books on this. This is actually 'nefis terbiyesi' (self-discipline), the highest degree of self-discipline taught by Mawla in our culture, Sufi culture, and also prophetic morality. This morality is for us. Currently, they have systematized it as a new branch of science for Westerners. When I saw this in 2009, it bothered me deeply. I wrote the books Masnavi Therapy and Love Therapy. This is one of the most important reasons I wrote these books. They took our culture and are now selling it back to us. Rest assured, the entire West is doing this now, and unfortunately, they haven't given credit," he said.
“Our culture flows, and we just watch it go by”
Tarhan, referring to Paulo Coelho's book The Alchemist; “It's a book taken from Rumi, but Rumi's name is not mentioned even once. It takes the journey of a person from Spain and finishes it in Egypt. This is entirely taken from Rumi. Seeing these, I ask, 'Why can't we do this?' In my youth, rivers flowed; there were no dams. They used to say, 'Water flows, the Turk watches.' Now our ancient culture flows, and we watch, and unfortunately, we couldn't even include it as a course in our education system. Even our minds seem to be under control as if enchanted. I struggled to explain Positive Psychology at first. Now, thankfully, it is accepted as scientific data in the psychology community. When I said this, they would ask me, 'Sir, what is the theoretical basis of what you are saying?'” he stated.
“The Covid pandemic has turned into a Covid tragedy”
Tarhan, stating, “We have an inferiority complex towards the West”; “It is thought that the West is a superior culture, and we are an inferior culture, so we must imitate it. In this culture, unfortunately, the West will play the tune, and we will dance. This culture causes others to exploit the treasure we possess. We need to break away from this culture. I am doing this in my field. The world needs this culture. After Covid, this need became even more prominent. Currently, some philosophers are calling it the 'great reset'; this is no longer a Covid pandemic but a Covid tragedy. Humanity is currently in upheaval. A year has passed, and we are still in the third wave, and rest assured, the third wave in Turkey has been more severe than the first and second waves. Scientists were left completely helpless. Scientists have a certain arrogance, don't they, like 'We can do it, we'll manage it'… For example, when the Titanic was built in England, British newspapers ran headlines saying, 'Even God cannot sink this.' Result? The Titanic sank. In 2018, humanity declared that the digital age had begun, a revolution had started – immense arrogance. Now there is mandatory digitalization. Everyone is forced to obey us. I believe these are not coincidences but divine coincidences (tevafuk),” he said.
“Those who live with Anatolian wisdom do not see themselves in a giant mirror”
Tarhan continued his words as follows:
“During the Trump era, there was a press conference about Covid. The one where the famous topic of drinking detergent came up. There was also a female scientist at that meeting. Journalists asked, 'Prayers are being said in many churches, and you are also working to find a vaccine. Whose will will prevail? If a vaccine is found, will it be found by religious leaders or by you?' Look, they are clashing religion and science here. That woman said there, 'We are trying to find the vaccine with the power of prayers.' Whoever that woman is, she should be given a wisdom award; she gave such a magnificent answer with no arrogance at all. Some scientists have this arrogance, and now they are having their noses rubbed in it. In Germany, the couple Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci found the vaccine; we all applaud them. Aziz Sancar went to America and received a Nobel Prize. I believe that if they live according to the requirements of Anatolian wisdom, they will not see themselves in a giant mirror and will not lose their way. Currently, those who achieve sudden fame can develop a feeling of 'who have I become'. One needs to be careful.
“The Islamic world needs to abandon the concept of the infallible imam”
Tarhan, referring to the infallible imam concept prevalent in Anatolia; “I think this understanding is the greatest disaster for the Islamic world. They said, 'The Islamic world did not pay critical prices,' but we paid this price on July 15th. The Islamic world needs to abandon the concept of the infallible imam. There can be no sacred leaders; what is sacred are Allah and the prophets, who are merely means to lead to truth. One day, someone asked Necip Fazıl while he was going to the ferry, 'I don't need a prophet or anything to find Allah, where do these come from?' Apparently, he was a deist. He (Necip Fazıl) then asked, 'Where did you come from and where are you going?'; The other person replied, 'I boarded from Kadıköy and am going to Eminönü.' Upon this, Necip Fazıl said, 'Then why did you board a ferry to go to Eminönü?' Do you see Necip Fazıl's intelligence? Necip Fazıl, known for his high ego, said, 'I am a pen in the hand of Allah, whether I wrote or not.'" he stated.
“The soul is knowledge in the sight of Allah”
Tarhan, speaking about psychiatrists being called 'soul doctors' in Anatolia; “It is not the soul that gets sick, but the brain. All the illnesses we call 'mental illnesses' are brain diseases. Our brain is the transistors of our soul. Just as a computer has all its electrical circuits, it's useless without a program. There is also a program in the brain. This program is called the mind program. But there is a consciousness program above the mind program. It asks, 'Who am I?' above the mind. A cat doesn't say 'Who am I?', but a human does. This consciousness is quantum consciousness. Being called a 'soul doctor' is related to conceptual confusion. Because when we treat our brain, we are treating the material world from the spiritual realm of our soul. Actually, we are treating the instrumental organ of our soul. The soul is knowledge in the sight of Allah; we don't know much about this. It only has a material connection with us, that's all. Currently, there is talk of universal big data. I took a hadith from the Messenger of Allah, our Prophet, and I marked its source. ‘If I were to hang a rope from here down to the earth one day, the Messenger of Allah would know. It would go, if anywhere, to the knowledge of Allah,’ he says. What I mean by knowledge is big data, digital data, and then there's mathematics, geometry, physics, energy, chemistry, matter, biology; all of them are Allah's law,” he said.
“Matter and meaning are complementary to each other”
Tarhan continued his speech by giving an example from an experience he had; “One day I encountered a question that greatly distressed me. A religious person said, 'This Covid is secular; a vaccine will be found, and we will be relieved.' Look at this mind map. Secular, as if the world is not Allah's property. This is the teaching of the West to us. Against the church's understanding, the West brought forth materialism. Saying that matter is secular, but meaning is not secular. However, matter and meaning are complementary to each other, not opposites or alternatives. Natural sciences and religious sciences are not alternatives to each other but are complementary. Western doctrine has been engraved into our minds by national education. One day, I had given my car for repair. The man was also a religious person, but unfortunately, he swindled me. He told me he 'did' something that he hadn't actually done. When I detected this, I didn't pay the money. A mutual friend told that mechanic, 'There's a violation of human rights (kul hakkı) here; he didn't fix that part of the car.' I am someone who cannot tolerate injustice, so I sent the friend, and he replied, 'Worldly matters are separate from spiritual matters.' This capitalist morality was previously carried out behind Atatürk's photograph; now it's carried out behind the 'Basmala' (In the name of Allah), there is no difference left. I am very disturbed by this situation,” he said.
The Importance of Emotion Management
Tarhan also spoke about emotion management in people; “For example, a mother comes and says, 'I adore my child.' It is, of course, very beautiful for her to feel this emotion. But she goes to the window with her child in her arms and thinks, 'What if I throw my child down?' If this thought remains at the ideation stage, it's called 'vesvese' (obsessive thought/whisper). If the person can use their mind, and make a quick judgment, saying, 'Why would I throw my child? I know myself, this is ridiculous,' then this situation remains as 'vesvese'. But if their ego is high and they have overly sanctified the child, in such cases, obsessions of aggression, harming, or being harmed emerge. Following this, the mother starts not holding her child, thinking, 'What if I throw them?' She enters the kitchen, sees a knife, and doesn't take her child into the kitchen, so she doesn't stab them. This happens in people who sanctify their child. If a person knows emotion management, knows that everything is from Allah, says 'Allah sees everything, I am in my right mind, I seek refuge in Allah in such a situation,' then that thought goes away. They say, 'Control is with Allah; I will not do it unless He permits.' But if the situation is completely opposite, the thought recurs,” he stated.
“When reason is with the heart, it doesn't lose its compass”
Tarhan, stating that the medical equivalent of 'vesvese' is an obsession; “Professionally, we can call it obsession. But for an obsession to become a medical condition, it needs to be repeated. Thoughts continue in the brain through neural pathways. But in these individuals, there is thought repetition, mental rumination. Those pathways in the brain begin to widen. When they widen, they gain a material dimension, and the brain's network is disrupted. It's likened to a valley; wherever you water it, that place remains green, and the human brain resembles that valley. Whichever area a person 'waters,' that part of the brain becomes green. We do this in the same way with interest and attention. Whichever area we love, that becomes the area we invest in the most. Reason is the reference emotion in emotion. Logic, urges (as the engine), reason, and heart synthesize and drive both at once. When reason is with the heart, it doesn't lose its compass. In our schools, reason and religious education should be provided synchronously. From the combination of the two, the student's wings will soar, they will take action,” he said.
“The heart has two functions: abstract and concrete”
Tarhan, stating that the heart has two functions, abstract and concrete; “The concrete heart performs the job of pumping blood. The abstract heart, in our culture, is referred to as 'gönül' (heart/mind/spirit). Why is it called 'kalp' (heart)? Because the word 'kalp' is a transducer. Its English equivalent is transducer, which converts one form of energy into another… Revolutionary. Our ear converts incoming information, sound energy, into electrical energy. Then the energy reaching our brain causes us to perceive sound. In 2013, there was a congress held for the 10th time by an association I am a member of in Geneva. There was a presentation there: they made a person's brain listen to bird, baby, and adult sounds. Then they recorded them as brain waves and played them back to the person, who could understand 80% of them. This means the universe is governed by waves. Teleportation will happen; with 5G, three-dimensional transmission will begin. We live in a quantum universe; living in such a universe, there is a butterfly effect. In chaos theory, there is order in chaos. The universe is not aimless, the universe is not irresponsible, not infinite, not uncontrolled. If we know our ego and our limits, we won't have 'vesvese' (obsessive thoughts), but if we can't stop it, it disrupts the network in the brain,” he continued.
First Treatment with DNA Analysis in Turkey
Tarhan, expressing his views on cleanliness obsession; “The brain confuses mental impurity with physical impurity. Mental impurity, abstract impurity, is a person's childhood trauma or excessive guilt they feel. The person suffers so much… 'Why did I do this?' they have a huge internal struggle, fighting with themselves but cannot find the reason. We have a young girl being treated in our hospital. This girl is of university age, and suddenly, a cleanliness obsession begins, making her unable to leave home. Her relatives carry the grown-up girl on their backs to prevent her from touching anything. We also had a patient who waited in the bathroom for a day and a half. We conducted approximately 40 treatment sessions, reducing her time in the bathroom to one hour. But now we are administering medication by performing DNA analysis, and we are doing this for the first time in Turkey. If the person is intelligent, they grasp what we say quickly, but if they are stubborn, they challenge us greatly. People reach such a point that they feel as if there is a second person inside them. This applies to all obsessions. If the person knows it's an illness, treatment is easy; if not, it's difficult. Most patients also suffer and want to be free. We had another patient who had made OCD her life. She was covering her house with packing tape, saying she wouldn't touch anything. All of us have traumas from our childhood. For example, a person receives the news that the mother of someone they love very much has died. Actually, their own mother is alive, but experiencing that trauma, the child also starts to fear losing their mother; their mother comes to mind in some way, and then they get used to it. But later, a stress crisis occurs, and the dormant volcano suddenly starts to erupt. Generally, it emerges from a weak point,” he said.
“There is a need for stress vaccination at a young age”
Tarhan also touched upon the feeling of guilt that develops in children; “Feelings of guilt, jealousy, and regret are like vaccines. With a vaccine, a weak virus is given to the person, and the immune system strengthens. When a large virus epidemic comes later, there are antibodies, and nothing happens. Therefore, vaccination is a scientific fact. Now, there is a need for stress vaccination at a young age. A stress-free childhood makes a child selfish, conformist, and turns them into a being who only thinks of their own interests. Previous generations grew up amidst difficulties, but the current generation grows up in abundance. That's why we cannot 'stress vaccinate' children. Years ago, many professors of Jewish origin came from Germany to Turkey, and most of them died of typhus. Because there was no typhus in Germany, but there was in Turkey. Our children had developed immunity by growing up with typhus, but when people who had never encountered this disease arrived, they started dying from typhus. Therefore, since we cannot be naturally vaccinated, we need to be artificially vaccinated against stress. The Covid stress vaccine is resilience training, the ability to delay gratification; pain and suffering are a part of it, but it doesn't happen willingly. For example, a child went to the market and stole a candy. When he came home, if his father said, 'My lion son,' the child would not feel guilty. But the child normalizes theft. For this, the father should take the child to the grocery store, explain that what he did was wrong, and say, 'Let's pay for it.' This way, the child learns wisdom at that age. But what do we do? We say, 'Oh, don't do this, oh, don't do that.' I will give another example. For example, there is vaginismus; this illness develops by saying 'oh sexuality, oh shame.' Everything that goes to extremes causes harm. This world is a world of balancing emotions,” he stated.
“Insomnia also triggers Bipolar Disorder”
Tarhan also made evaluations regarding bipolar disorder in the interview; “When looking at the experiments conducted, if both parents are bipolar, the child's likelihood of also being bipolar increases. Genetic transmission is high, but never one hundred percent. For example, if lung cancer is genetic, it emerges over time even if the person does not smoke. The predisposition gene appears when certain conditions are met. If a person lives very stressed or feels like they are losing control, the brain constantly secretes stress hormones, and bipolar disorder is triggered. Insomnia also triggers this disease. The reason it is called a bipolar disorder is that one pole has depression and the other has an elevated mood. When a patient enters the manic phase, they can walk from Istanbul to Izmir; during this period, they also say, 'My car goes 150, I can't stop it.' In the manic phase, neither their grandiosity nor anything else remains. The manic phase is very pleasurable; when we treat someone in a manic phase, we feel sorry for them. But there are realities of life; this time they fall into depression and say, 'Give me that medication again so I can feel euphoric again.' Picasso, for example, was manic-depressive. He has a house on the French-Spanish border. I went and saw that some walls were pitch black, others colorful. Picasso's paintings were very valuable at that time. Someone commissioned a painting and asked, 'How much do I owe?' Picasso stated the price. The Countess was annoyed and said, 'Can that much money be asked for?' Picasso replied, 'Madam, this money represents 50 years plus one hour.' Look at the intelligence? Those on the edge either become mad or a saint,” he said.
“As knowledge advances, we draw closer to Allah”
Tarhan concluded his speech with these words:
“During our student days, Napoleon and Atatürk delusions would emerge. For the last 10 years, I have been encountering Mahdi delusions. For example, one says, 'The sign has come.' They ask, 'Why?' and he says, 'My nose resembled it.' Another said, 'I am the Mahdi,' and I asked for proof. He said, 'I have a mole on my left foot.' These people are very intelligent. Many people believe what they say. Then these people stumble. A living example resides in Pennsylvania. Because his ego was high, he influenced everyone.
As knowledge advances, we draw closer to Allah; as science progresses, we draw closer to the Creator; as science progresses, everyone is a candidate to be a Rumi. For example, because Prophet Abraham was in that cave, he did not grow up among idolaters and thus became one of the first believers, which is one of the wisdoms behind it. When he grew up, he came out of the cave and asked, 'Do the idols you worship speak, do they bring what you ask for, do they eat what you give them?' When he received the answer 'No,' he said, 'Then why do you worship them?' He asks to understand, to seek. The answer he received did not satisfy him; he saw that these could not be worshipped, then he thought more. He said, 'Someone must have made this universe.' He looks at the sun, thinking 'Did it create me?' and says 'No.' Then he looks at the cloud and says, 'I do not love those that set.' He sees that everything dies, perishes, and then concentrates so intensely that Allah's help comes. Allah has established a law concerning it; you cannot just drink your coffee without such concentration. We must seek and find the truth. The Creator has given these to our genes, but it requires some investment and effort to find them. Remember the ant that carried water to Prophet Abraham? They asked it, 'Are you going to extinguish that fire?' It said, 'I will die on that path.' We will also be on that path. Recalling the story of Prophet Abraham, another example came to my mind. Prophet Abraham reached the pinnacle of submission and trust in Allah (tawakkul). He had seen and believed in the existence of Allah to such an extent that he knew he would be thrown into the fire but did not give up. He says, 'The Allah I know is true,' and does not give up. He says, 'Allah sees me, He knows,' and Gabriel comes and asks, 'Do you have a request?' He asks, 'Does Allah know?' Gabriel replies, 'He knows.' He then says, 'Then you step aside,' and falls into the fire. According to one narration, the place where he fell is said to be Balıklıgöl (Fish Lake) in Urfa.”