Üsküdar University Founding Rector Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan made important statements about the fears people experience and solution methods.
Fear in the face of an unusual event causes the body to react with stress. The stress reaction can also cause biological disruptions. Stating that fear is contagious, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, "When someone is afraid, it infects others. There is a rule of 'stop, think, act' at the first moment when a fearful situation is encountered. We recommend this for the approach to fear, danger and crisis. In addition, after mental preparation, confrontation and virtual reality programs are among the treatment methods applied to help people overcome their fears."
Üsküdar University Founding Rector Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan made important statements about the fears people experience and solution methods.
A small amount of fear is useful
Stating that fear will remain at a proportional level if there is preparation for danger, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, "In fact, a small amount of fear is useful, but too much disproportionate fear ties one's hands. Therefore, one of the biggest obstacles to development is fear. For example, some people have a fear of innovation. Even though they are very intelligent, they do not go out of their own sphere of control due to fear of innovation. Fears affect people."
Parents' panic scares children
Tarhan said that it is an advantage for children to be trained in fear, "But they usually look at their parents. If the parents panic, they start to be afraid because children do not know life. They do not yet have the ability to distinguish what is dangerous. Their perception of reality is not formed. They are learning about life and events like earthquakes can be used as an opportunity to teach them something. This is something unforgettable for the child in his/her life."
Taking precautions should become a skill
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, "The date of the Izmir earthquake is not easily forgotten like August 17th" and added, "Taking precautions should become a skill. If we had evacuated the house after the earthquake and immediately moved to a tent, and if we still behaved in the same way now, the child who faced that trauma calmly would have started to be afraid later on. There are children who were pulled out from under the rubble, they are very relaxed, there is no fear in them. For example, we saw that baby Ayda, who was pulled out of the rubble after 91 hours, was healthy."
The brain secretes cortisol and endorphins
Stating that the brain has a defense mechanism and secretes excessive cortisol in shock experiences and severe traumas, Tarhan said, "The brain secretes endorphins along with cortisol. Endorphin is a painkiller, relaxing hormone. With its effect, the brain shuts itself down for protection against stimuli. Just as we cannot reflexively move our arm if it is broken, the brain blocks itself in the same way. This is a defense mechanism. It is something special created in our body nature. The child was able to tolerate itself, to breathe, to withstand thirst. This is in our biological nature. In such situations, if we leave our body alone after the brain gets oxygen, it will be more balanced. We disrupt our body and nervous system ourselves."
Fear causes the body's stress response
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, 'During fear, our mouth dries up, our heart beats, our blood pressure drops, our color turns yellow and our breathing accelerates and we faint' and continued his words as follows:
"There is a fight or flight response. At that moment, we are reacting in the form of fleeing or defending ourselves, standing still, waiting. It protects the body from falling apart physically and psychologically at that moment. This is a healthy response that our body develops. Of course, when this reaction lasts for a long time, it can increase blood pressure, block blood vessels and cause gastrointestinal contractions. When it becomes chronic, it leads to various soft tissue rheumatisms. There are chronic fears and stresses. Fear causes the body's stress response. The stress response can also cause biological disruptions. Our brain represents every organ. Our brain has a program. When we disrupt this program, all the muscles in the body open and close and a deorganized work in the body emerges. For this, we need to be able to manage our own nervous system in a cold-blooded way, just like managing our body."
Some fears have a genetic dimension
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, 'There is fear and then there is being afraid of that fear. Fear is a healthy emotion, it protects the person in times of short-term danger" and continued his words as follows:
"Imagine that there is no fear of heights in people, everyone would fall out of apartment buildings. Fear of heights is genetic. For example, a person who has never seen a snake in his life is afraid of snakes is also a genetic fear. Some fears have a genetic dimension, but some fears are learned fears. When someone experiences a fear, a shock, the circuits in the region of the brain that produces words explode. The flow of information is disrupted due to excessive chemical secretion there. The person becomes unable to produce words, tongue-tied. You teach that person how to produce words all over again and they learn again. If you reject the person, they remain untreated. Fears within reasonable limits should be accepted as natural. We make a fear inventory, we investigate people's fears and what is behind those fears. We check whether there is a childhood trauma that causes fear in the background."
The person should not be confronted with their fears before they are ready
Stating that the person with fears should not be confronted with their fears without the necessary preparations, Tarhan said, "For example, if there is a fear of swimming, the approach of throwing into the water should be after mental preparation. After mental preparation and training, if the person is afraid despite this, in such cases, the method called confrontation and expojur is applied in a safe environment. Special simulation programs were made for this. Virtual reality programs are applied in the treatment of fear of heights, insects, open spaces and public speaking. The person is fitted with a virtual reality goggles and the fear is tried to be overcome by being in the same environment with the thing they are afraid of in 3D. People experience extreme panic even though they know that what is shown in that environment is not real. They say it is absurd, exaggerated, but they do it. Thus, desensitization work is being done."
Fear is contagious
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, 'Fear has a contagious characteristic. When someone is afraid, it infects others," he said and continued his words as follows:
"There is a rule of 'stop, think, act' at the first moment of encountering a fearful situation. In other words, it is necessary to stop. What is it? What is it not? It is necessary to understand. After that, a quick plan can be made and action can be taken. There are people who act without thinking. In childhood, impetuous, impatient, hyperactive people have a lot of impulsive behavior, they are impulsive. They act without thinking about the end, they do the first thing that comes to mind, and they immediately believe the last thing they hear. These people are very affected in times of fear. In fact, they make fewer mistakes when the 'Stop, think, act' rule is applied. If it is something they can control, they act on it; if it is something they cannot control, such as a storm, they go to a corner and wait for it to end. In such cases, fear is not acted upon. What do you do when there is a fire? You cannot dive into it. First you have to extinguish it, then cool it down, then investigate the cause and see what can be done to prevent it from happening again. We recommend this for the approach to fear, danger and crisis. It is a method that works."
The fetal position is the most comfortable position
Describing the mother's womb as a problem-free period in human life, Tarhan said, "The fetal position is the position in the mother's womb. In Arabic, the word fetus comes from the root of heaven. It is the most comfortable state of human beings. After that, the problem starts, the fear turns towards it. When you look at advanced schizophrenics, they stand in the fetal position in a corner of the house. This is what human beings do when they are afraid. But if there is preparation for a crisis, the stop and think period is shorter."
