Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan participated as a speaker in the seminar organized by Turkish Airlines Aviation Academy. Tarhan noted that a new form of life, such as working from home, emerged with the pandemic, reminding that flexible work does not mean inefficient work, and individuals can be as productive working from home as they are in the workplace. Emphasizing planned work and time management, Tarhan stated that individuals should also maintain the balance between childish ego and adult ego.
Üsküdar University Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan participated as a speaker in the program titled “Managing Psychology in the Pandemic” organized by Turkish Airlines Aviation Academy. Tarhan made evaluations regarding the effects of the pandemic process on individuals' physical and mental health.
“We need to maintain the balance between our childish ego and our adult ego”
Emphasizing that some adults resorted to childish behaviors with the emergence of the work-from-home system during the Coronavirus pandemic, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan pointed out the need to maintain the balance between childish ego and adult ego. Prof. Dr. Tarhan said; “Working from home has created a new form of life. Flexible working hours do not mean inefficient work. A person can be as productive working from home as they are in the workplace. In this case, the most important thing individuals should do is to work planned and manage their time well. Especially at home, beds should not be left unmade. We all have a lazy child within us. When adult businessmen meet with their childhood friends, they behave so childishly towards each other that observers are surprised. It suddenly puts the person into a childish format, and people become very happy. However, this always means behaving without limits. Life is a rule-bound environment; those who live without rules waste themselves and cannot manage their time. It is especially important to pay attention to the clothes worn while working from home. We witnessed managers attending meetings in tank tops in a few places. This means that a feudal mindset continues in the person and emerges whenever they find an opportunity. However, if individuals have epigenetically embedded intellectualism into their personality codes, they will automatically act accordingly in such situations. But in this matter, the child within us always pulls itself towards the childish side. But here we need to maintain the balance between our childish ego and our adult ego.”
“Everyone needs to believe in this work and own it”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan noted that the most important factor in this process is cooperation and belief; “Covid-19 is coming in a way similar to the Influenza epidemic that occurred all over the world. It was often compared to it, but the reason for its deadliness was that the health system at that time was very different from now. At that time, World War I had ended, and all of Europe was in ruins. Currently, the world's development is not sufficient. Because it occurred during such a period, there were very serious deaths. The destruction caused by the war played a very important role in the outbreak of the epidemic. But the world did not catch the Covid-19 epidemic defenseless and without infrastructure after a war. In this situation, China took very, very serious measures. The Chinese model is currently seen as the ideal model in the world. They even nailed doors shut for a month. They were able to extinguish the initial outbreak of the epidemic and then manage its spread more easily. At that time, we received a Covid-19 report from a university in China. In that report, there is a statement that they prevented the epidemic not with various cleaning and hygiene measures, but with cooperation. This point is very important. Everyone needs to believe in this work, own it, and ensure very good cooperation.” he said.
“What we will focus on is how we will behave against the crisis”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan; “At that time, there was also a serious explosion in psychiatric illnesses. Despite the decrease in services in all hospitals, psychiatric patients never decreased, and some severe cases started to increase. It is the same now. Divorces in China have increased so much after the Covid pandemic that courts are reportedly postponing petitions for a month and not accepting them. There is no such crisis in Turkey right now. We have handled this situation better. Stronger family support also plays an important role here. If there were postponed problems within the marriage, they tried to solve them when they came together. If they could not develop problem-solving methods, this situation caused serious conflict. That is why what we will focus on here is how we will behave against the crisis.” he stated.
Two Dimensions of Crises: Danger and Gain
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that crisis periods have two dimensions, and said, “Especially for those over 65, it had many negative effects. Very serious ailments arose due to lack of physical activity. While trying to protect them from illness and infection, they encountered very serious different ailments. We even received information that people who had never used antidepressants until the age of 65 started using them. Later, these restrictions were eased, and efforts are being made to compensate. But we are still dealing with the psychological illnesses that started during that period. That period was a social crisis. Crises have two dimensions. One is the danger dimension, and the other is the gain dimension. If people focus on the danger dimension here, they see everyone who comes through the door, everyone who moves, as Covid. They spend fifty minutes out of sixty thinking about this. This negatively affects the person's mental health. However, this situation has decreased a bit now as people have become more conscious. Radical examples are shown on television, but a large majority of society is now more aware. This needs to increase even more.”
“Not taking it seriously can currently be considered a kind of intellectual disability”
Tarhan stated that people who did not take the epidemic seriously became aware when their relatives contracted the disease; “Recently, a group emerged in society saying, 'whatever happens, happens.' Especially among young people, there is a feeling of seeing freedom as the reason for living their lives. This is one of the characteristics brought by modernism and the era. Such individuals prefer not to listen, thinking it is wrong and exaggerated. But when their first-degree relatives get sick, their opinions can suddenly change. The danger is close and serious. It is not a distant danger, but a disease with very dramatic consequences. Not taking this seriously can currently be considered a kind of intellectual disability.” he expressed.