Stating that the neuroscientific effects of mindfulness on the brain have now been proven, Psychiatrist Prof. Tarhan said: “Mindfulness is often misunderstood as ‘living in the moment,’ whereas the correct meaning is ‘living in the present.’ Mindfulness does not mean positive thinking. It means having the ability to remain calm in difficult situations and during stress. It means staying present.”
Pointing out that mindfulness requires individuals to allocate time for themselves in accordance with their philosophy of life, Prof. Tarhan said: “This is a meditative act. In fact, it means living in harmony with the speed and rhythm of nature. Set aside at least 20 minutes of silent time for yourself every day. This is a pause during which a person steps out of routine, stops, reflects, and reassesses.”
Stating that “There is an inner critic in all of our brains that constantly belittles us,” Prof. Tarhan added: “A person who practices mindfulness can say ‘Stop, no’ to their inner critic. They can manage it by saying, ‘This part of what you say is right, but this part is wrong.’”
President of Üsküdar University and psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan evaluated the subject of mindfulness on the program Akla Ziyan with Nevzat Tarhan, broadcast on EKOTÜRK.
The Term ‘mindfulness’ is translated into turkish as ‘bilinçli farkındalık’
Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that translating the term “mindfulness” into Turkish as bilinçli farkındalık is an accurate definition, and said: “In fact, it 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.”
He explained how these three pillars function as follows: “The first is intention. A person must learn to direct their intention not toward the events they encounter, but toward their true goals. The feeling that ‘control is with me, not with the events I live in’ is very important. In the second step, attention comes into play. Even if one’s intention is clear, they must direct their attention to the right point. The third is developing an attitude. The ability to choose one’s own attitude in the face of difficult events is in the individual’s hands. When all this is done, a person takes control of their own mental management.”
Meditation is often confused with mindfulness
Drawing attention to the fact that meditation is frequently confused with mindfulness, Prof. Tarhan explained the fundamental difference between the two. He stated that meditation is a relaxation technique and said: “Meditation also has three important pillars: mentally focusing on an object, performing a rhythmic movement such as breathing exercises, and usually listening to relaxing music or sounds. With these three elements, meditation takes place. 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.”
The neuroscientific effects of mindfulness on the brain have been proven
Prof. Tarhan stated that the neuroscientific effects of mindfulness on the brain have now been proven and said: “The organ that mindfulness trains is our brain. First, it teaches us to manage the frontal region, the ‘control center’ or the ‘cockpit’ of our brain, which is responsible for executive functions such as planning and timing. Second, it helps regulate the amygdala, the alarm center of the brain. It allows us to notice the stimuli coming from the amygdala during perceived threats and remain calm. Third, it regulates the Default Mode Network, the brain’s ‘autopilot.’ When this network is overactive, it indicates very high levels of anxiety.”
Mindfulness also has effects at the cellular level
Prof. Tarhan stated that mindfulness also has effects at the cellular level and, referring to a Nobel Prize-winning study, said: “Under chronic stress, telomeres, which determine how many times cells will divide, wear down rapidly and DNA damage occurs. This leads to premature aging. By teaching stress management, mindfulness supports the more efficient functioning of the enzyme telomerase, which repairs telomeres. In other words, it slows down biological aging.”
The goal is to manage difficult emotions
Touching on another misunderstood aspect of mindfulness, Prof. Tarhan stated that it is not an imposition of “positive thinking.” He said: “Overthinking causes the brain to release stress hormones intensely. This leads to the rapid depletion of key brain chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. Just as chronic stress shortens telomeres and affects lifespan, it also lowers the brain’s chemical balance. So how does mindfulness prevent this? Mindfulness is often misunderstood as ‘living in the moment,’ whereas the correct meaning is ‘living in the present.’ Mindfulness does not mean positive thinking. It means being able to remain calm during difficult situations and stress. It means staying present. People like this live either in the past or in the future and miss today. Yet the philosophy is simple: Learn from the past, live the present, and look to the future.”
Accepting the current situation is essential
Prof. Tarhan emphasized that accepting the current situation is also critical in this process and said: “There are things that a person does not have the power to change. They must accept this. Being able to say, ‘Even if I do not like it, I must live through this,’ is important. Remember this: If there is a solution to what upsets you, it is not worth worrying about. If there is no solution, worrying will not change anything anyway, so it is still not worth worrying.”
Tolerating today’s difficulties for long-term goals
Emphasizing that mindfulness helps individuals tolerate today’s difficulties for long-term goals, Prof. Tarhan said: “Intentional behavior activates a completely different network in the brain. It directs a person away from pleasure-based short-term goals toward meaning-based long-term goals. You are sacrificing something right now, your comfort is being disrupted, but what will this give you in three to five years? Awareness is precisely the ability to establish this connection.”
Gaining the ability to remain calm in the face of stress
Stating that mindfulness does not yield results through a single application, Prof. Tarhan explained scientifically how this skill is taught to the brain: “This does not work if you do it just once. When practiced continuously, you gain the ability to remain calm in the face of stress. In fact, we measure this with treatment methods such as neurofeedback, where we teach the brain to produce Alpha waves. When a person learns to reduce Beta waves and increase Alpha waves by playing a game on a screen, the brain later learns to produce these waves even without the device. It becomes automated.”
Prof. Tarhan stated that this technique is now regarded in psychiatry as “tissue-respecting medicine” and concluded as follows: “The classical method in medicine is to operate or to administer the strongest medications. This is an invasive approach. Mindfulness, however, is like laparoscopic surgery. It is akin to overcoming illness by strengthening the immune system without damaging a person’s psychological integrity.”
Does awareness make a person unhappy?
Responding to criticisms that awareness makes people unhappy, Prof. Tarhan said: “What we understand by happiness is important. There are two types of happiness. One is hedonic happiness, meaning pleasure-based happiness. The other is meaning-based happiness. Pleasure-based happiness is related to the brain’s dopamine pathways, whereas meaning-based happiness is related to serotonin pathways. Dopamine is short-term, it is quickly depleted and the brain wants it again. If we define happiness as a life with zero stress, that is called false happiness. Just as we do not value counterfeit money, we must also be able to distinguish fake happiness. Happiness that is obtained from purchasable, tangible things is fake happiness.”
Look at an apparently unhappy event from a broader perspective
Explaining how to manage the moments of confrontation experienced during the awareness process, Prof. Tarhan said: “Today’s suffering is tomorrow’s joy. When you understand this, you can manage the feeling of unhappiness. The key skill here is learning to be an observer. You must be an observer toward your own emotions as well as toward the emotions presented to you from the outside. When you are an observer, that emotion does not contaminate you and you do not mentally ‘buy’ that emotion. A person who can look at an apparently unhappy event through a third eye does not immediately approve it emotionally. This does not happen naturally; it is a skill that must be learned.”
Emphasizing the importance of “digital detox” and setting aside time for oneself, especially against the fast and continuous flow of stimuli brought by the digital age, Prof. Tarhan stated that being able to look at one’s own emotional state objectively is one of the most fundamental needs of modern humans.
Our brain also works like a biological computer
Stating that a computer slows down when its cache memory is full and that the brain works like a biological computer, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said: “Think of a computer. If its cache is full, it slows down. Our brain also works like a biological computer. Approximately 30 percent of the algorithms in our brain are genetic, and 70 percent are learned later. We need to rewrite these learned algorithms with new information. If we do not change the algorithms in our brain, we give old answers to old questions. However, we need to give new answers to old questions. This is related to the neuroplasticity of our brain.”
For the mindfulness technique, a person must allocate time according to their life philosophy
Explaining how this mental skill can be integrated into daily life, Prof. Tarhan said: “For the mindfulness technique, a person needs to allocate time for themselves based on their life philosophy. This is a meditative act. In fact, it means living in harmony with the speed and rhythm of nature. Set aside at least 20 minutes of silent time for yourself every day. This is a pause in which a person breaks away from routine, stops, reflects, and reassesses. At that moment, the Default Mode Network, the brain’s ‘autopilot,’ becomes active and the brain relaxes by reducing stress hormones. Even search engines encourage this inner journey by saying ‘Search Yourself.’ Life is a blend of positive and negative events. We will see both the positive and the negative, but after analyzing the situation quickly, we will focus on the positive. No body can endure constant tension and chronic stress. A person must learn stress management. Learning stress management means being able to develop neuroplasticity in the brain.”
Managing the “inner critic”
Stating that this practice turns into an automated skill over time, Prof. Tarhan explained the process of how a behavior becomes permanent as follows: “When emotion and thought unite and a person accepts this, 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 a ‘personality trait.’ After that, when a person encounters an event, they perform this behavior automatically.”
Emphasizing that one of the most critical aspects of mindfulness is managing the “inner critic,” Prof. Tarhan concluded: “There is an inner critic in all of our brains that constantly belittles us. A person who practices mindfulness can say ‘Stop, no’ to their inner critic. They can manage it by saying, ‘This part of what you say is right, but this part is wrong.’ If we surrender ourselves to this inner critic, we drift like a sail-less ship in the wind. Managing the inner critic is one of the most important dimensions of this process.”