Obsessions are generally thoughts that enslave people and restrict their freedom. There are individuals whose lives are restricted, unable to leave their homes or spend a day and a half in the bathroom due to their obsessions. No matter how absurd it may seem to the person experiencing the obsession, this parasitic feeling makes them repeat the behavior countless times.
At one end of obsession are the thought disorders we all experience in daily life. There's also a pathological dimension. Here, the person disconnects from reality. This initially begins with small obsessions. For example, someone looks at them and laughs. They wonder, 'Why did they look at me and laugh?' They fall into suspicion, 'Is there something wrong with me?' They look in the mirror, saying, 'I had surgery on one eye. My other eye must be small.' After a while, they imagine everyone is looking at their eye. Following this, they start to avoid going out. Because they constantly turn it into an obsession, they eventually reach the point of paranoia.
Obsessions can emerge when balance is disturbed
Obsessions actually stem from an individual's inability to perform accurate thought analysis. In our brain, while the right prefrontal region is particularly involved in managing our emotions; the left prefrontal region is concerned with managing thought. The person needs to succeed in establishing a balance between the two. Succeeding in balancing positive and negative emotions... This balance is effective in preventing the formation of obsessions.
They say, 'I know, I know, I can do it...'
We can say that communication and relationships with one's close environment are also influential in obsessions. Introverted individuals tend to develop many obsessions in relationships with their close circle. If a person's ego is also high, they ask no one anything, saying, 'I know, I know, I can do it.' As this continues, they become even less able to manage their obsessions. Humility is a social emotion. Humility is necessary for ourselves. We must also be humble towards ourselves. If not, a person cannot self-criticize in a wrong situation. Someone unable to self-criticize cannot manage their obsessions.
Beware of unfair and wrong self-criticism!
Regarding the cause of obsessions, an individual's inability to perform necessary self-criticism or engaging in unfair and wrong self-criticism can also lead to obsessions. This is because these individuals do not make an effort to search, question, analyze, seek help from others, or learn about whether this thought is incorrect. Individuals who do make an effort to learn, if they seek support from the right people when this obsession arises, medicine can analyze that obsession.
In some individuals, contrary to self-confidence, obsessions can also arise due to a lack of self-confidence. For example, they have obsessions that manifest as an inability to do anything without asking someone else. Here, the opposite situation is experienced. The individual has no self-confidence at all. Because self-confidence is low, they cannot make decisions. They always try to make decisions by seeking approval. This is also an obsession for the person.
A mental jury should be formed
Socrates had three filters: the filter of reality, the filter of goodness, and the filter of usefulness... If we adapt these filters to psychiatry, we should consider them as five filters. Especially when a piece of information or a feeling comes to mind regarding obsessions, the person should ask themselves questions like, 'Is this real or not, true or not, useful or not, appropriate or not, trustworthy or not?' We will form a mental jury in our minds. We will ask questions to this mental jury, and our mind will be a judge. That judge will say, 'Yes, this is good, do it.'
Managing thought is important
Our brain has the amygdala and hypothalamus regions. These regions give quick, swift, and thoughtless reactions to events. These regions produce negative emotions. They are geared towards defense. Some people only use that part of their brain. This automatically produces negative emotions related to defense and threat, being innate in our brain. A person produces positive emotions when they say, 'Stop, think, act.' In such situations, the probability of error further decreases. People who believe the first thing that comes to their mind cannot avoid making mistakes. Individuals who cannot manage their thoughts cannot get rid of their obsessions.
The frontal lobe of the brain makes decisions through critical thinking. This is not an innate feature but is learned later. The primitive brain works innately, meaning the brain's limbic system operates. This system is something we are born with and exists to protect us from danger. A child's brain is also like this. If a child feels safe, and their mother is with them, they are calm and peaceful. But when a stranger arrives, the brain immediately goes on alert. Because it is something unknown and unfamiliar. They immediately get scared and cling to their mother. But as they grow, they learn to differentiate. The frontal lobe of the brain gradually becomes active.
They are individuals who cannot manage their thoughts, who cannot train the frontal lobe of their brain...
Individuals who cannot manage their thoughts are those who cannot train the frontal lobe of their brain. We provide these individuals with training to strengthen the frontal lobe of the brain through computer training modules. By giving them this training, we can equip them with training in disorganization management and the skill of delaying gratification. In our culture, there is a concept known as patience. Being able to manage time is essentially learning this. Being tolerant, being patient is actually a meditative act. This means aligning with the speed and rhythm of nature. It means being able to act towards one's goal while waiting to achieve it.
Therefore, this is not a talent but a skill. Skills are learned later. Patience is being taught through training programs in the style of resilience training. This training is important for psychosocial maturation. To instill this skill in the younger generation, these trainings need to be integrated into the education system. Previously, these were learned through life experiences. Currently, in the West, they have especially started to include these trainings in the education system. Concepts such as resilience training, the skill of delaying gratification, social skills, and the gratitude module – human values – have begun to be taught in the education system. Unfortunately, our current education system has not fully understood the importance of this issue. It is solely focused on academic success.
The permanent material dimension is no longer simple anxiety, but a disease...
When obsessions begin to negatively affect a person's life, intervention is definitely required. The treatment of obsessions requires a holistic approach suitable for a disciplined and systematic therapy. In obsessive behavior, extraordinary chemical activity occurs in the brain. In MRI studies, when a person is reminded of an obsession, that region of the brain lights up. There is such chemical electrical activity in that region of the brain that it becomes measurable. Therefore, clinical treatment is necessary for individuals who have crossed a certain threshold. It means that the obsession has moved beyond simple anxiety and gained a permanent, tangible dimension. In other words, therapy alone is no longer sufficient for these individuals. The aim is to correct the underlying problem in the brain. If the chemical data in the brain is at a very advanced level, hospitalization can also be performed. Electrical or magnetic therapies can be applied. There are also cases where good results are obtained with six weeks of treatment.
The most important nourishment for the brain is the expectation of recovery and the feeling of hope
Regardless, it's important not to fall into despair regarding obsessions. Losing the feeling of hope is like a car running out of fuel or a device running out of battery. The feeling of hope is the most important power that motivates and sustains a person. The expectation of recovery and the feeling of hope have neuropsychological and neurophysiological effects and the power to improve brain chemistry. Therefore, the expectation of recovery and the feeling of hope are the most important nourishment for our brain. We must not lose this.
Source: Hürriyet Newspaper