Founding Rector of Üsküdar Üniversitesi, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, was a live broadcast guest on the 'Balçiçek İlter ile Şimdi' program, presented by Balçiçek İlter and aired on EKOL TV. Tarhan made striking evaluations regarding 'disrupting family order, increasing addictions, and the bad world syndrome'. Underlining the need to invest in people and family, Tarhan stated that household fragility has increased recently. Recalling that when university students were asked, the family emerged as the institution they trusted most, Tarhan noted that young people value family. Tarhan stated that if the family is a safe space, children do not grow up bad.
Founding Rector of Üsküdar Üniversitesi, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, answered journalist Balçiçek İlter's questions live on EKOL TV. Tarhan made notable statements regarding disrupting family order, increasing addictions, and the bad world syndrome.
“Currently, people fear media, not God”
Answering journalist İlter's questions regarding the Narin and newborn incidents, which have been widely discussed in the media recently, Tarhan emphasized the feudal structure. Tarhan stated that in such structures, leaders are blindly obeyed; “Currently, people fear the media, not God. That's why they always complain to the media. We are in such a time. The media should conscientiously ensure this issue is not forgotten. The Narin case… The newborn incident, rather than making us forget all other evils, brings them to the agenda and has a crime-preventing effect. In other words, it becomes a representative of public conscience. This is a characteristic of many villages in Anatolia. As seen in the Narin incident, there is a feudal structure there. In feudal structures, leaders are blindly obeyed, and actions are taken at their command. Therefore, there is a serious plan to make this incident forgotten and to cover it up. Despite so many gendarmerie and police going there, no confession emerged. They did not disperse. Because that's how it is in feudal structures. There is solidarity until death. Since public conscience is sensitive on this issue, and the court will act according to this public conscience, if this issue remains on the agenda and is not forgotten, the truth will come out. Even if 100% is not found, 80-90% will be revealed.” he said.
Love must also be distributed fairly among children…
Tarhan, discussing the need for children to be treated equally within the family, said; “The sense of accountability in people has weakened. Justice has diminished. If one child in a family always makes mistakes, and the parents always protect that child, there will be no peace. In other words, there needs to be justice in love among children. When this is not the case, the other child looks at their mother and father with resentment, thinking, ‘They love that one so much, they don't treat me like that, they ignore me.’ Therefore, one of the most significant childhood traumas is ignoring a child. Even hitting a child has a less traumatic effect than ignoring them. Because at least you are aware of the child's existence. When you ignore them, there is accumulated anger towards the parents.”
Where there is favoritism, there is no justice!
Emphasizing that where there is favoritism, there is injustice, Tarhan said; “Our society is a leader-type society. A society that takes leaders as examples. If there is no just management in a company, if uncles and children support one side, and fathers and children support another, there will be polarization. Where there is favoritism, there is injustice. When we say justice, we always think of courts. Courts are the ultimate legal norms; there are also social norms and conscience-based norms. All these norms influence each other. If a leader in a company is always unjust, everyone in that company looks for an opportunity to ‘slap someone’. This situation also applies to the country. Therefore, Anatolia has an ancient wisdom, a culture. The moment the administration pulls itself together and rectifies itself, everyone gradually starts to improve. Therefore, let's not be pessimistic.”
The human brain is more sensitive to negativity, to threats!
Discussing the human brain's reactions to positive and negative events, Tarhan said; “The human brain is programmed for survival. As such, it is more sensitive to negativity, to threats. It responds to a threat event in 50 milliseconds, and to positive situations in 300 milliseconds. When we look at the brain with evoked potentials, when there is a threat, it drops everything and focuses on it. The brain does this automatically. For this reason, negative things spread rapidly. When there are no positive, good, and beautiful things, negativity spreads like a virus.”
“Households of five are decreasing, single-person households are increasing”
Emphasizing the importance of trust in the family, Tarhan stated that the family institution is the one young people trust the most. Tarhan said; “According to Turkish statistics, divorces in the first five years of marriage are around 38-39%. That is very high. Globally, it is 50%. Turkey is slightly better, but when we look at the statistics, we see that household fragility is increasing. Households of five are decreasing, and single-person households are increasing. TÜİK statistics show this. We ask university students questions about family, we conduct surveys. The family emerges as the institution they trust the most. When we ask what the most reliable institution is right now, they say family. This is very important because the world is not like this. To protect this, Turkey has a great opportunity. The state should invest in people and family instead of investing in land and infrastructure.”
Marriage; not a competitive, but a complementary relationship…
Noting that marriage is a complementary relationship, Tarhan said; “After the 1960s, there was a beautiful development related to the women's liberation movement worldwide. However, after a while, this situation turned into radical feminism. Radical feminism transformed this relationship into a battle between women and men. In such situations, the understanding that ‘the powerful one's word prevails’ came to the fore. However, the family is like a ship. Everyone on the ship cares about the well-being of the ship, the future of the ship. They do not damage the ship out of anger at the captain. In a family, if a person can ponder, ‘What is best for me and my family?’ when angry at their spouse, they will make fewer mistakes. Marriage is not a competitive relationship, but a complementary one. Both need each other, because they were created that way. The most important truth in the universe is the truth of need. In other words, there is a magnificent balance between good and bad, between hot and cold.”
“Youth value family”
Tarhan, discussing the importance young people attach to the concept of family, said; “Generation Z youth have rebellious sides; they don't want to get married, they want to achieve everything easily, but they are very endearing. Their expectations are high, their justice expectations are high. They are more careful against evil. Therefore, if we can be good role models for young people, these young people will create a much brighter future for us. Young people value family. Because cultural transmission used to be done by family and society, now it's done by the media. Since the media does it, role models are changing. Therefore, if the family is a safe space, children do not grow up bad. Families of successful children, happy children, can sit down and talk for the well-being of the family. The home has become a safe space. That is, there is no constant war at home, no tension at home, such a warm environment has been created.”