Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan made remarkable evaluations on the topic of “The Emotion of Hope and Human” in the program “Door to Reason with Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan” broadcast on Dost TV and Dost FM. Tarhan emphasized that fear lies behind individuals who fall into feelings of hopelessness; “They see their past mistakes, their fears about the future, and their current emotion is one of hopelessness. These individuals always live with 'if onlys', 'what ifs', and fear in their lives,” he said. Tarhan underlined that if a person has a rational belief, they can withstand hopelessness, and emphasized the importance of the Tawhid belief.
The past is an experience, today is a gift, the future is an investment…
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, drawing attention to the fact that people who fall into hopelessness always live with fear, stated that fear exists in the background of hopelessness. Tarhan; “The opposite of hope is hopelessness, pessimism. It is labeling oneself in this way, such as ‘I won’t amount to anything. I am useless. Nobody loves me. Nobody values me.’ These individuals look at the past, present, and future from the wrong perspective. They see their past mistakes, their fears about the future, and their current emotion is one of hopelessness. These individuals always live with 'if onlys', 'what ifs', and fear in their lives. Fear lies in the background of hopelessness. However, if a person can think, ‘The past is like an experience in my life, a capital. Today is a gift given to me. The future is an investment for me,’ they begin to see reasons for hope. These individuals are open to innovation, have trained themselves in resilience, are patient, highly motivated, and hardworking people.” he said.
“A person heals by 40 percent the moment they believe the medicine they take is real”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan also explained the effects of Placebo and Nocebo on the feeling of hope; “The placebo effect is when you give a person fake starch as a pill and say, ‘This will help your headache.’ 40, sometimes even 50, of 100 people's headaches go away. Then they give these people a substance that silences morphine in the body. After the substance, those people’s headaches that had gone away start again. A person heals by 40 percent the moment they believe the medicine they take is a real medicine. Therefore, the patient's trust in the doctor is a 40 percent advantage for the patient. If they don't trust the doctor, they start with a 40 percent disadvantage. In some cases, this rate goes up to 50-60 percent. If the brain believes, the internal pharmacy is activated accordingly, and the brain secretes internal chemicals. The nocebo effect, on the other hand, is when you tell a person, ‘If you take this medicine, you will get this disease,’ which is the exact opposite of the placebo effect. If that person believes it will happen, the symptoms of the disease begin. For example, there are male pregnancies. As his wife’s belly swells, his belly also swells. They go to the doctor, there is no pregnancy, nothing. These are called the nocebo effect. He has identified so much with his wife that his brain reacts as if he is pregnant. His belly swells, he collects gas. The brain sends wrong messages to the body,” he said.
“Not mistakes, but our reactions to them are important”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that unexpected options can arise when a person falls into despair, underlined the qualities a person should possess.
Tarhan;
- A person must be part of a higher meaning.
- They must have a mental sanctuary.
- They must believe in a higher power and value.
- A person must be able to think of themselves transcendentally.
When a person falls into despair, unexpected, unforeseen, and unanticipated options appear before them. When we look at the Esma’ül Hüsna, we will make mistakes and commit sins so that Allah’s name ‘Ghaffar’ may manifest. We will get sick so that Allah’s name ‘Shafi’ may manifest. What is important is not the wrongness of what we do, or our mistakes, but our reactions to them,” he said.
“The ideal human bows before no power, but only before the Creator of the universe…”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan, stating that a person who can trust in divine providence (tevekkül) will not fall into hopelessness; “The greatest characteristic of this century is that in old centuries, people used to worship idols; then in Central Asia, we said our Khans know, and we sacralized them; in the Ottoman era, we said sultans know, and we sacralized them; and in the Republic, we said 'state father'. We sacralized the state or militarism. Currently, the point reached in modernism has sacralized the human ego. The ideal human bows before no power, but only before the Creator of the universe. The rational belief is the Tawhid belief. There are also irrational beliefs, for example, there are frog and mouse temples in India and Japan. They also believe, but it is contrary to reason. The only rational belief that is consistent with reason is the Tawhid belief. If a person with this Tawhid belief fears events and falls into despair, it means they do not know their belief, they do not understand it enough. Humanity has been able to grasp and understand the meaning of Tawhid belief in this era. Previously, it was said, ‘Obey and be comfortable,’ but in this era, it is said, ‘Understand the truth and be comfortable.’ Question, and then obey. That is the truly questioned belief. The religion consistent with reason is the Tawhid religion. According to quantum physics, it has an explanation. Therefore, if a person has a rational belief, they can withstand hopelessness. If they have an irrational belief, they expect power not from Allah but from causes. They expect healing not from Allah but from the doctor, from medicine. The people of this era have sacralized causes. The idol of this era is the idol of causes,” he expressed.
“Life gives its reward to those who can endure”
Tarhan, stating that the feeling of hope is the emotion that motivates people the most; “For a person to have motivation, they must first feel a need for it. If there is a need, a desire awakens, and when desire awakens, there is motivation. A person needs to hope to seek out and find their need. First, they will say, ‘My current illness needs to get better, this is my need.’ After realizing their need, a desire will awaken to satisfy that need. When desire awakens, it immediately mobilizes them. They must succeed in taking a correct position and waiting. Here, being resilient and being able to endure is also important. Life gives its reward to those who can endure. Our ancestors said, ‘Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.’ Patience is not withdrawing and waiting, but active patience, patience in motion. Patience is actually a meditation technique. That is, it is adapting to the speed and rhythm of nature,” he said.
“One foot on the ground, the other in dreams”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan, also drawing attention to Rumi’s Compass Metaphor in his speech; “Let one foot be on the ground, and the other in dreams. Unreal reason should be disabled; if not, those dreams become not hope, but disappointments. Therefore, one leg of the compass contains realism, idealism, and activism. A person who combines these three does not lose hope and mobilizes themselves. A realist person makes realistic analyses. It is important to keep these three in balance,” he said.
“When a person has no purpose, they also have no hope”
Tarhan, drawing attention to the necessity of using human life productively; “The time given to a person is more valuable than cash; when cash is lost, it can be replaced, but time cannot be replaced. Therefore, the given time must be used well. That is, time is capital. In this short life, we have a responsibility to use our time productively. For this, a person must always have a purpose. When a person has no purpose, they also have no hope,” he stated.
“If you want to raise your child hopefully, give them ego ideals”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan, emphasizing that the question ‘What kind of person do you want to be at the end of your life?’ should be made into an abstract goal; “If you want to raise your child hopefully, give them ego ideals. Give them life goals worth striving for, enduring hardships for, and getting tired for. No one can stop a child with goals. At worst, the child says, ‘My Lord, I will reach Him.’ It’s a tremendous test… Destiny wants this purpose. A cancer patient says, ‘If I am going to die, this life is very meaningless. Life must have a meaning.’ The person begins a search for meaning, finds the truth. They say, ‘This life must have a meaning.’ That illness causes them to find the meaning of their life, and with their reason, they say that the Creator of this universe must have a purpose. This order is not created without purpose, it is a perfect system,” he stated.
“If a person focuses on things they cannot control, they easily fall into despair”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that for a person's feeling of hope to be high, they must be able to distinguish what is within their power and what is not; “The goal of preparing for death and the afterlife in our belief system keeps hope alive in a person even under the most difficult conditions. A hopeful person in life is one who can manage to be hopeful in any environment. In positive psychology, it is called authentic happiness. Authentic; like pure, genuine happiness. In English, there is no equivalent for the word 'huzur' (serenity/peace of mind); they say ‘peace.’ However, the word ‘peace’ and ‘huzur’ are not the same. In our culture, the word ‘huzur’ exists. Happiness and huzur are not the same thing. A person eats chocolate and is happy. Huzur is when a person believes that what they love and what makes them happy will not escape, will not be lost, and is eternal. The moment they think they will lose something they value and love, that happiness becomes temporary, and the fear of loss, the fear of not being able to control, begins. For a person to be hopeful, they must be able to distinguish what is within their power and what is not, what they can control and what they cannot. If they focus on things they cannot control because they lack the power, they easily fall into despair,” he said.
“Hopeful people are open to criticism”
Tarhan, stating that insecure people are afraid of criticism; “Traumas, mistakes, wrongs, life events, negative experiences are part of growth. Criticism is a gift; if it's useful, you use it; if it's not, you move on. Being open to criticism is the most important part of growth. Hopeful, self-confident people are open to criticism. A person without self-confidence fears criticism. A hopeful person is open to surprises. A person closed to surprises has isolated themselves and lives in a capsule. One who knows their limits knows their Lord. Let's reach our limits, let's know the boundaries of our own power,” he said.