Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, emphasizing that psychological health is as important as physical health, stresses that our psychology, just like our body, needs balanced and proper nutrition. Pointing to the importance of emotion management, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “We must keep love, our most important psychological resource, in a large pool and be generous with love.” Tarhan also stated that mental investment is necessary to make life meaningful.
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stated that before the 90s, emotions and thoughts were shown as sources of psychology, and after the 90s, especially with brain studies and the introduction of the neuroscientific concept into our lives, the impact of emotions and values on human behavior began to be investigated.
Humans are psychological beings
Noting that humans are not just rational beings but also psychological beings, Tarhan said, “They are not content with eating, drinking, and reproducing like other living creatures. When we ignore the psychological dimension of humans, we keep them at a primitive level. Eating, drinking, and reproducing are the needs required for humans to sustain their lives. However, humans are beings who think abstractly, conceptually, and symbolically. Due to this characteristic, humans have psychological resources. These resources also need to be managed and invested in. Emotions and values must be taken into account. What do we understand by emotional and cognitive investment? The word 'cognitive' entered Turkish as psychology terminology. It hasn't fully settled in Turkish. In fact, the word that best corresponds to this concept is mental investment. There is a mind above our brain. The mind is also related to the quantum universe. Neuroscience revealed this. ‘There is a p300 wave in the brain. It's not the brain that decides; there must be a holographic brain above the brain’ is the kind of reasoning used to state this. This is currently being researched.” he said.
Psychology is summarized in 3 words: Mind, brain, culture
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that when making decisions, humans decide not only with their reasoning mind but also with their emotions, excitements, and cultural values, saying, “Psychology is summarized in three words: Mind, brain, and culture. When these three concepts come together, a human becomes human. Instead of 'akıl' (reason/intellect), 'zihin' (mind) can also be used. It is referred to as 'mind, brain, and culture'. Humans are the sum of these three.
Emotion management is the management of the brain's chemical pharmacy
Humans are not solely composed of emotions. Nor are they solely composed of thoughts. Our culture has made a synthesis of mind and heart. What is meant by heart here is emotion. It is not the physical heart. The word 'kalp' here comes from the Arabic root 'İnkılap' (revolution/change). It is the organ that 'hearts', changes, transforms, like converting sound energy into electrical energy, or heat energy into electrical energy; it is an organ that performs such transformations. Therefore, the connection of the heart with our emotions and the chemicals in the brain has been determined. In essence, emotion management means managing the chemical pharmacy in our brain. For a person to manage their psychology well means to manage their brain chemistry well.” he explained.
We will keep the love pool wide
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that the most important psychological resource is love, saying, “In investment resource management, there is a pool formula. You will keep the pool large. You will keep love, our most important psychological resource, wide. We will be generous with love. Some people are stingy with love. We must express love as an emotional language. The language of love doesn't necessarily mean 'I love you'; we can express love through other means as well. The important thing is that it is sincere.” he said.
Intention is also a psychological resource
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that “the eye, the face, and the heart must be aligned. In a person who achieves this, a magnificent intention emerges,” added, “Intention is also a psychological resource. Good intention is a magical word. There are studies on 'Good Intention and the Neurobiology of Intention.' In individuals with good intentions, emotional mirror neurons in the brain are active. They activate areas related to positive emotions in the other person's brain, and emotional mirror neurons, like an internet in the brain, become active and communicate.” he explained.
Reinforcing the positive aspect is essential
Pointing to the importance of expanding the resource pool in resource management and then using this pool correctly and wisely, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “You must first give so that you can then manage. In education, teachers, mothers, and fathers will be generous with love. There is no need for violence or shouting when a child makes a mistake. You will give love to the child. What is the real success in education? Reinforcing the positive aspect is essential; punishment is an exception. This is for academic and life success in education. For a child to be successful, they need to love the lesson. To love the lesson, they also need to love the teacher. That's not enough either. For them to love the teacher, the teacher needs to love the student. If this chain of love turns, the child becomes successful after a while.” he said.
Mental investment is required to make life meaningful
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that mental investment is necessary to make life meaningful, advised, “It is important for an individual to know themselves, learn to manage their emotions, and manage emotions, thoughts, and values as a resource. To achieve these, you must first make emotional and mental investments. What is mental investment? You will wisdomize your mind. To wisdomize, it is necessary to add emotion to the mind. A synthesis of mind and heart is required. For this, one needs to learn high moral values. By using our mind and heart, we can increase our emotional and cognitive resources and investments.”
News agencies publishing in English also showed interest in Tarhan's widely covered news in the press.
Railly News featured Tarhan's views on its pages.
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