Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Founding Rector of Üsküdar Üniversitesi, discussed the topic 'Emotional Balance' in the program 'Akla Kapı with Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan' broadcast on Dost TV and Dost FM. Tarhan stated that individuals with mood disorders cannot manage their emotions and that emotions vary according to cultures. Emphasizing that emotional wisdom is the most important skill distinguishing humans from other living beings, Tarhan stated that the anterior region of the brain regulates emotions. Underlining that spiritual maturity has a counterpart in the brain, Tarhan said, “Allah manages the material world and the spiritual world through the prefrontal cortex.”
"Individuals with mood disorders are people who cannot manage their emotions"
Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, describing the characteristics of individuals experiencing mood disorders, said; "Individuals with mood disorders are people who cannot manage their emotions. Their moods are very variable. They are fickle. You cannot predict what they will do beforehand. They are emotionally inconsistent and unstable. Emotionally unbalanced. The only stable thing about them is instability. In other words, being unbalanced is the only thing they are stable about. Such types are very dangerous. It is the personality that causes the most harm in marriage. It is known as a borderline personality. He tells his wife, 'I hate you!' Then, he says, 'Don't ever leave me.' They are individuals who can experience two extreme things at the same time. You cannot understand if the other person is angry or sad. It's complete emotional instability."
"Emotions vary according to culture"
Tarhan stated that emotions can vary according to culture; "Emotions vary according to culture. Based on that, I felt the need to write the book 'The Psychology of Emotions'. That is, I wanted to bring culturally appropriate interpretations to emotions. I examined topics such as 'Positive emotions, negative emotions, and how do we manage these emotions? How do the left brain, right brain, and prefrontal cortex work?'. Our brain categorizes emotions as positive emotions and negative emotions. According to some people, for example, joy is positive. In American culture, being overjoyed is positive. They rejoice like children at everything. For example, in Eastern culture, being overjoyed is not positive. Like this, positive-negative emotions vary according to culture and individual. I felt the need to write all of these as 'mood specific to our culture'..." he said.
"Every emotion expresses a certain chemical mixture in our brain"
Tarhan stated that autistic individuals have low emotional literacy; "Every emotion expresses a certain chemical mixture in our brain. It pours this into the body, and our body reacts in this way. We have micro-expressions on our faces. There are software programs called 'Emotionalfaces' that perform face reading related to emotional faces. For example, autistic people cannot do face reading. Their social and emotional literacy is low. When shown a happy person's face, they say it's sad. For example, you show a surprised person's face, and they still say it's sad. They cannot recognize emotions. When such a person goes to school, a joke is made, everyone laughs, but they cannot laugh. This time they remain outside. When they remain outside, they experience peer bullying. If they experience peer bullying, we say, 'This child might be secretly autistic.' It's not full autism; their logical intelligence is high. They even have an 'island of genius' in their brain, but their social and emotional intelligence is low." he said.
"The greatest danger is the danger of losing humanity..."
Tarhan stated that happiness moves in the opposite direction as material prosperity increases; "We are losing our humanity. Currently, nuclear danger is known as the danger of the future. No one dares to start a nuclear war due to global balances because they know what would happen. Currently, the greatest danger awaiting humanity is not nuclear danger. The greatest danger is the danger of losing humanity. We are currently seeing an increase in divorces, violence, crime incidents, depression, and suicides. Material prosperity is increasing, but happiness is declining..." he said.
"Emotions need to be sustainable"
Tarhan stated that managing emotions is a process of becoming wise; "The most important skill distinguishing humans from other living beings is the ability to manage emotions and emotional wisdom. Emotional wisdom occurs when you add emotion to thought. If you don't add it, emotion does not turn into action. When you add emotion to thought, it becomes a belief. If you continue the belief, it becomes a character. If you continue it for more than six months, it becomes a personality. Therefore, emotions need to be sustainable. It is necessary to be able to continue for at least six months. This is also the process of a person becoming wise." he said.
"Regulating emotions is the job of the anterior region of the brain"
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, speaking about everything in the world being in a system of laws, emphasized that everything is connected to each other by cause-and-effect relationships. Tarhan; "Regulating emotions is the job of the anterior region of the brain. We have a limbic system in our brain. This limbic system, the part of our brain related to emotions, is the heart of the brain. That is, fear, anger, hatred – every emotion works here. There are approximately 140 billion nerve cells in the brain. There are also 40-50 thousand emotion-related cells in the heart. These communicate with each other. They are also connected to each other in the heart. Allah has connected our emotions to our body with a system of laws. Everything in the world is in a system of laws. He has connected them to each other with cause-and-effect relationships." he said.
"If a person can maintain the balance between hope and fear, they do not deviate from the path"
Tarhan stated that the prefrontal cortex provides the balance between the right and left brain; "For our emotions to develop, we need negative emotions. What is called 'shaytanic whispers' in the Holy Quran are negative emotions. These also have a counterpart in the brain and can be measured. Positive emotions also have a counterpart in the brain. One side of our brain desires positive emotions, and the other side desires negative emotions. The prefrontal cortex provides balance. The left brain is related to logic, reasoning, analysis, speech, and calculations. The right brain is related to emotions, excitement, music, art, and looking at events holistically. The left brain is related to looking at events pointwise. The left brain is called the masculine brain, and the right brain is called the feminine brain. The prefrontal cortex provides the balance between these two. If the prefrontal cortex says, 'I know everything,' it is an arrogant brain. That brain can deviate from the path at any moment. A person's total success in life becomes clear at the end of life. A person cannot say, 'I am successful.' They should say, 'I am successful now, but whether I will be successful in 5 years is not certain.' If a person can maintain the balance between hope and fear, they do not deviate from the path. The brain then makes correct decisions. When this happens, it's as if universal help comes. This is called creative thinking. For this, one must first have emotional dreams." he said.
"Allah manages the material world and the spiritual world through the prefrontal cortex"
Tarhan spoke about the relationship between spiritual maturity and the anterior region of the brain; "Spiritual maturity has a counterpart in the brain. This is called frontal lobe training. What we call frontal lobe training is spiritual maturity. Allah manages the material world and the spiritual world through the prefrontal cortex, through our forelocks. There is a verse about this. This means its counterpart is mentioned in the Holy Quran. It says, 'We will drag those who commit evil by their forelocks to evil.' Meaning, 'Those who do good are already going towards good.' So, the forelock is the frontal region. The place connected to universal energy. The evidence for this is the Elliott case, which has entered the literature." he said.