Stating that the neuroscientific effects of Mindfulness (Conscious Awareness) on the brain have now been proven, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, “Mindfulness is often misunderstood as 'living the moment'; however, the correct understanding is 'living in the moment.' Mindfulness is not about positive thinking; it's about having the ability to remain calm in difficult situations and during stress. It is about staying in the moment.”
Emphasizing that for the Mindfulness technique, a person should set aside time for themselves according to their life philosophy, Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, “This is a meditative act. In essence, it is living in harmony with the speed and rhythm of nature. Set aside at least 20 minutes for yourself in silence every day. This is a break where a person steps away from their routine, pauses to think, and re-evaluates.”
“We all have a critic in our brain that belittles us,” said Prof. Dr. Tarhan, “Someone who practices Mindfulness can tell that inner critic, 'Stop, no.' They can manage it by saying, 'What you said there is right, but what you said here is wrong.'”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan evaluated the topic of conscious awareness on the program "Nevzat Tarhan ile Akla Ziyan" broadcast on EKOTÜRK.
The concept of "Mindfulness" in Turkish is "Bilinçli Farkındalık" (Conscious Awareness)
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that translating the concept of "Mindfulness" into Turkish as "Bilinçli Farkındalık" (Conscious Awareness) is an appropriate definition, saying, "Actually, this means conscious mental and emotional awareness. It has a mental dimension and an emotional dimension. This awareness has three main pillars: Intention, attention, and attitude." Prof. Dr. Tarhan explained how these three pillars work with the following words:
"The first is the pillar of intention. A person should know how to direct their intention not towards events they encounter, but towards their true goals. The feeling of 'I am in control, not the events I experience' is important. In the second step, attention comes into play. Even if the intention is complete, a person must direct their attention to the right point. In the third, an attitude needs to be developed. It is within a person's power to choose their own attitude in the face of difficult events. When a person does all these things, they take control of their mental management."
Meditation is confused with Mindfulness
Drawing attention to the fact that meditation is often confused with Mindfulness, Prof. Dr. Tarhan highlighted the fundamental difference between the two. Stating that meditation is a relaxation technique, Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, "Meditation also has three important pillars: Mentally focusing on a topic, performing a rhythmic movement like breathing exercises, and generally having soothing music or sound… Meditation occurs with these three. However, it should not be forgotten that meditation is only a technique used by Mindfulness. It is a sub-branch, a tool. The overarching concept is conscious awareness."
Neuroscientific effects of Mindfulness on the brain have been proven
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that the neuroscientific effects of Mindfulness on the brain have now been proven, saying, "The organ that Mindfulness trains is our brain. Firstly, it teaches us to manage the 'Command Center' of our brain, which is the frontal region, the CEO. Executive functions such as planning and timing are controlled here. Secondly, it manages the Amygdala, the alarm region of our brain. It enables us to notice stimuli coming from the Amygdala, which is activated in the face of threat, and to remain calm. Thirdly, it regulates the brain's 'Default Mode Network,' which is the 'autopilot.' Overactivity of this network indicates very high anxiety."
Mindfulness also has effects at the cellular level
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also stated that Mindfulness has effects at the cellular level, referring to a Nobel Prize-winning study, "Under chronic stress, telomeres, which indicate how many times cells will divide, rapidly wear down, and DNA damage occurs. This is early aging. Mindfulness helps the Telomerase enzyme, which repairs telomeres, to work more efficiently by teaching stress management. In other words, it slows down biological aging."
The goal is to manage difficult emotions
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also touched upon a misunderstood aspect of Mindfulness, saying that it is not an imposition of "positive thinking." Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, "Overthinking causes the brain to release stress hormones intensely. This leads to the rapid depletion of the brain's essential chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. Just as chronic stress shortens telomeres and affects lifespan, it also reduces the brain's chemical levels. So, how does Mindfulness prevent this? Mindfulness is often misunderstood as 'living the moment'; however, the correct understanding is 'living in the moment.' Mindfulness is not about positive thinking; it's about having the ability to remain calm in difficult situations and during stress. It is about staying in the moment. These people either live in the past or the future, missing the present. Yet the philosophy is simple: Learn from the past, live the present, look to the future."
Accepting the current situation is important…
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that the concept of accepting the current situation is also critical in this process, saying, "There are things beyond a person's power, things they cannot change. They must accept this. Being able to say, 'Even if I don't like it, I must live through this,' is important. Remember; if there is a solution to something you are upset about, it's not worth being upset; if there is no solution, it won't change even if you are upset, so it's still not worth being upset."
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also emphasized that Mindfulness provides the ability to tolerate current difficulties for long-term goals, stating, “Intentional behavior activates a completely different network in the brain. It shifts a person from pleasure-oriented short-term goals to meaning-oriented long-term goals. You are sacrificing something now, your comfort is fleeting, but what will this gain you in 3-5 years? Awareness is the ability to make this connection."
Gaining the ability to remain calm in the face of stress
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that Mindfulness does not yield results with a one-time application and explained how this skill is taught to the brain with scientific methods:
"If you do it for just a moment, it doesn't work. When you do it continuously, you gain the ability to remain calm in the face of stress. We even measure this with treatment methods like Neurofeedback, where we teach a person to produce Alpha waves in their brain. When a person learns to reduce Beta waves and increase Alpha waves in their brain by playing a game on a screen, the brain learns to produce this wave even without the device attached. It becomes automatic."
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that this technique is now seen as "tissue-respecting medicine" in psychiatry, saying, "The classic method in medicine is to operate, to give the strongest drugs. This is an invasive technique. Mindfulness, on the other hand, is like laparoscopic surgery. It is similar to overcoming illness by strengthening the immune system without disturbing a person's psychological integrity."
Does awareness make a person unhappy?
Responding to criticisms that awareness makes a person unhappy, Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, "What we understand by happiness is important. There are two kinds of happiness: One is hedonic happiness, meaning pleasure happiness. The other is meaning happiness. Pleasure happiness is related to the brain's dopamine pathways, while meaning happiness is related to serotonin pathways. Dopamine is short-lived, quickly depleted, and the brain craves more. If we aim for happiness as a life with zero stress, this is false happiness. Just as we don't value counterfeit money, we must distinguish counterfeit happiness. Happiness obtained from purchasable, tangible things is false happiness."
Look at an unhappy-seeming event with a third eye
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also provided information on how to manage moments of confrontation experienced during the awareness process, saying, “Today's suffering is tomorrow's joy. When you understand this, you manage the feeling of unhappiness. The key skill in doing this is learning to be an observer. You will be an observer of your own emotions, and of the emotions presented to you from outside... When you are an observer, that emotion does not infect you; you do not mentally 'buy into' that emotion. A person who can look at an unhappy-seeming event with a third eye does not immediately emotionally validate the event. This does not happen spontaneously; it is a skill that must be learned."
Emphasizing the importance of "digital detox" and setting aside time for oneself, especially against the rapid and continuous flow of stimuli brought by the digital age, Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that the ability to objectively look at one's own emotional state is one of the most fundamental needs of modern humans.
Our brain also works like a biological computer
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan noted that if a computer's cache memory is full, it slows down, and our brain also works like a biological computer, stating, "Think of a computer; if its cache memory is full, it slows down. Our brain also works like a biological computer. Approximately 30% of the algorithms in our brain are genetic, and 70% are learned later. We need to rewrite these learned algorithms with new information. If we don't change the algorithms in our brain, we will give old answers to old questions. However, we need to give new answers to old questions. This is related to our brain's neuroplasticity feature."
For the Mindfulness technique, a person should set aside time for themselves according to their life philosophy
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also explained how this mental skill can be integrated into daily life, "For the Mindfulness technique, a person should set aside time for themselves according to their life philosophy. This is a meditative act. In essence, it is living in harmony with the speed and rhythm of nature. Set aside at least 20 minutes for yourself in silence every day. This is a break where a person steps away from their routine, pauses to think, and re-evaluates. At that moment, the brain's 'autopilot,' the Default Mode Network, activates, and the brain relaxes by reducing stress hormones. Even search engines encourage this inner journey by saying 'Search Yourself'. Life is a seasoning made up of positive and negative events. We will see both the positive and the negative, but after quickly analyzing the event, we will focus on the positive. No body can withstand constant tension and chronic stress. A person needs to learn stress management. Learning stress management means being able to develop neuroplasticity in their brain for this purpose," he said.
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that this practice transforms into an automatic skill over time, explaining the process of a behavior becoming permanent as follows:
"If emotion and thought combine and a person accepts it, it becomes a 'belief.' If you repeat a belief for about six weeks, it becomes a 'habit.' If you continue the habit for another six weeks, it becomes 'personality.' Now, when that person encounters an event, they do it automatically."
Managing the "inner critic"
Emphasizing that one of the most critical dimensions of Mindfulness is managing the "inner critic," Prof. Dr. Tarhan concluded his words as follows:
"We all have a critic in our brain that belittles us. Someone who practices Mindfulness can tell that inner critic, 'Stop, no.' They can manage it by saying, 'What you said there is right, but what you said here is wrong.' If we surrender ourselves to this critic, we drift like a ship without sails in the wind. Managing our inner critic is also an important dimension of this process."