Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector and Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan was a live broadcast guest on the Sahur Bereketi program, presented by Dursun Ali Erzincalı and broadcast on TRT 1. Tarhan made striking evaluations on the topic of “Ramadan and its Impact on Our Mental Health,” drawing attention to the effect of intention on behavior. Noting that if a person's intention is sincere, the emotional mirror neurons in the other person's brain are activated, Tarhan stated that a warm relationship emerges when there is sincerity. Tarhan also stated that with sincerity, a transmission occurs in the other person's brain and a feeling of affection begins, noting that sincerity has a magical quality. Tarhan said, “Sincerity makes the brain work like wireless internet. The mirror neurons of sincerity are good intentions.”
“There is no civilization in human history that has cared for orphans so much”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector and Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that children with bad parents are also a kind of orphan; “The Prophet Muhammad had a profound concern for orphans. There is a significant accumulation of Hadith (Prophet’s sayings) concerning them. This has become ingrained in our civilization's geography. There is compassion for orphans throughout our geography. There is no civilization in human history that has cared for orphans so much. An orphan child is unprotected and defenseless because parents are the greatest protectors. The child's heroes are their mother and father. They lack that hero, that refuge, that sense of security. Children in the hands of bad parents are also a kind of orphan. When there is physical abuse and physical neglect, the child grows up in a loveless environment. They grow up constantly being abused. In such a child, both love and anger develop towards the mother. In some children, there is no love for the mother at all, anger develops directly because the mother becomes a malevolent mother. The mother constantly demeans, scolds, and puts the child down. The child, while searching for a safe haven, finds a mother who strikes their hand.” he said.
“Modernism ruined the feeling of empathy…”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan emphasized that humanity's greatest psychological need is to transcend oneself; “At the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is self-actualization. Maslow adds ‘self-transcendence’ to this. It is translated as transcending oneself. The greatest psychological need of a person's ego ideal is to transcend oneself. If one succeeds in transcending oneself, they become happy. Transcending oneself means not living just for oneself. It means being able to do something for family, for the environment, for society, for the universe, for the Creator, for existence. It means being able to direct one's investment of love towards these. When a person does these things, they become happy, a person who spreads happiness and feels happiness. The Prophet Muhammad personally lived and demonstrated this, saying, ‘The best among you are those who are most beneficial to people.’ He transcended himself but did not oppress himself. When it comes to sacrifice, sometimes people go too far and oppress themselves. One should not oppress the self either. Being sacrificial does not mean being a doormat. Being sacrificial means being aware of one's own feelings, being aware of the other person's feelings, and being able to establish balance. That's why modernism ruined the feeling of empathy. Selfishness pulls the feeling of empathy down. The type of person who does not consider the feelings, needs, and desires of the other side has started to multiply. This isolates such people,” he stated.
“Social media provides fake and instant happiness”
Tarhan emphasized the importance of being natural, noting that social media creates false happiness. Tarhan; “Currently, there is a feeling of emptiness. To satisfy the feeling of emptiness, social media offers a very fake, temporary, instant happiness. People constantly do this, and after a while, they are devastated when they receive criticism. If they also have a fake talent, they quickly rise and attract attention, but with one mistake, the opposite happens, and then they fall into depression. Here, it is important for a person to be natural. We call this authentic, pure, genuine happiness. A person can succeed in being happy even if they are in prison, and they can find the same happiness even if they are in a palace,” he said.
“Parents should see this month as an opportunity…”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that the month of Ramadan holds an important place in cultural transmission; “When we say 'old Ramadan,' the Ramadan of our own childhood has remained a longing within us. Everyone loves their Ramadan because there is a warm atmosphere at home. Families eating together makes it better, children love Ramadan very much for that. Ramadan is the happiest moment for children. For this, gifts are bought for children, holiday clothes, and preparations are made. All these are tremendous rituals, and at the same time, they are our cultural transmission. Stories and experiences facilitate cultural transmission. Just as a person formats themselves individually during Ramadan, society also gets formatted. Despite such cultural degradation, global and cultural imperialism, if our societies protect certain things, if they can protect certain family values, the month of Ramadan has a very great impact on this. The seeds sown in the developing souls of children during Ramadan have a very big role. Parents should see this month as an opportunity. It is an opportunity to make the home environment a warmer place,” he stated.
“The human brain programs itself”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan touched upon the difference between starving and fasting; “Hunger and fasting are confused. It is normal for a person to be irritable when their blood sugar drops during hunger, when they don't eat. Ramadan fasting is a little different, there is no complete starvation. The human brain is an organ that programs itself. For example, if you go to bed believing 'I will wake up at 4 AM,' you will wake up without setting an alarm because you are programming your brain. In people who fast with belief, apart from the first few days of adaptation, when a person believes 'I will not eat anything until Iftar in the evening,' the brain does not secrete hunger hormones. Since hunger hormones are not secreted, this time the person does not experience the crisis or tension caused by hunger. That irritability then emerges in hasty, impatient individuals or in some people who fast without internalizing it,” he stated.
“The mirror neurons of sincerity are good intentions”
Tarhan spoke about the effect of intentional behavior versus unintentional behavior on people; “If an intended person is sincere and has an intention, it activates the emotional mirror neurons in the other person's brain. In other words, individuals who are looked at with good intentions and are sincere activate areas like love in the other person's brain, creating warmth. If there is sincerity, there is a warm relationship. Transmission also occurs in the other person's brain, and the feeling of affection begins. That is actually the miracle of sincerity. It is a magical quality of sincerity. Sincerity makes the brain work like wireless internet. The mirror neurons of sincerity are good intentions. When there is bad intention, it also negatively affects the other person's brain. Brains communicate like wireless internet. When you interpret something positively, the brain takes a position regarding it, makes perceptions about it, establishes connections related to it, and gives appropriate responses,” he said.
“For a society to function correctly, it needs to make healthy decisions”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that one of the most important emotions in the formation of conscientious norms is the feeling of shame; “For a society to function correctly, it needs to make healthy decisions. It needs to take healthy steps. It needs to think healthily, feel healthily, and direct itself healthily. There are legal norms, defined by laws and statutes; they are written law. Secondly, there are social norms, unwritten but traditions, customs. They are fundamental elements that constitute society. And thirdly, there are conscientious norms. The measure of conscientious norms is known as morality. The understanding of morality within conscientious norms requires a conscientious accountability. This is where a part of our ego, referred to as the superego in psychology, develops, forming as conscience; but if conscience is too rigid, it leads the person into depression. If it is too lax, it turns the person into a crime machine. One of the most important emotions in the formation of these conscientious norms is the feeling of shame,” he stated.
“True freedom is to be free from one's emotions”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that it is natural for a person to feel loneliness from time to time; “True freedom is to be free from one's emotions. A person who does this does not feel loneliness. It is normal for a person to feel loneliness from time to time. When some people feel lonely, they immediately blame others. They say, 'I am so successful, that's why they don't love me.' They say, 'I'm handsome or beautiful, that's why they don't love me, they're jealous of me, they talk behind my back.' First, they need to question themselves with a third eye, asking, 'Where and how am I making mistakes that people are moving away from me?' This is known as 'self-reckoning' in our culture,” he stated.