While the cause of death of the adult siblings found dead in their home in Fatih, Istanbul is still being investigated; experts are evaluating the psychological dimension of the issue. Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that the possibility of suicide is high in such cases, and that the psychological dimension of the issue should be addressed in this case and a "psychological autopsy" should be performed. Stating that there are lessons to be learned from this incident as a society, Tarhan stated that neighborly relations and values should be kept alive and communication should be strengthened.
Üsküdar University Founding Rector and Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan made evaluations on the death of the adult siblings who were thought to have committed suicide together in their house in Fatih.
Psychological autopsy is being conducted
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that the data to be obtained is very important in order to make a complete assessment of the incident and that the psychological dimension of the incident should be evaluated:
"The presence of cyanide and the fact that there was a mass death indicate that the possibility of suicide is high. The information so far indicates that the last person to die was the sister, but in such cases it is difficult for the sister to do it alone. Therefore, a full autopsy report is required. The forensic aspect, the social aspect and the psychological aspect of the situation need to be addressed separately. What is needed for the forensic dimension is already being done, they are investigating how the incident happened, whether there are any criminals, whether it is a case of suicide. If we consider the psychological dimension, psychological autopsy is also carried out in such cases, just as it is done in forensic sciences. In psychological autopsy; 'why this death happened, how it happened and what are the psychological dynamics behind it' are investigated. For this, some background information is also needed. According to the information available at the moment, the four siblings live in isolation, they have no connections in the community, this is important information other than medication."
Did the mirror effect drive 4 siblings to suicide?
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan also evaluated the antidepressant drugs found at home; "The second important information in this death case is that antidepressants are used a lot at home. There is a profile of siblings with mental health problems, who do not leave the computer, who are likely to be obese. According to the stories about the siblings, some behavioral disorders are also seen. In people or families living in this way, we call this situation the mirror effect. In other words, in the mirror effect, individuals in the family show the same effect, they think the same things. They see the world as a threat, they see the outside world as a danger. They don't trust anyone, they only trust themselves. And they share this in order not to show this to the outside world. We call this shared paranoia. If there is shared paranoia, if they create their own space by not trusting anyone and live in this space, people with such shared paranoia have psychotic delusions. In such cases, they say it is better to die than to live without honor. This family reportedly refused offers of help and told a close friend that they perceived it as dishonorable. This could be a collective paranoia. Looking at the accounts of close friends, it is possible that the adult siblings committed suicide with the idea that it is better to die than to live oppressed, victimized and needy."
It is necessary to investigate the leadership structure in the family
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that paranoid people live with fear and that fear is the basis of their decisions and said, "When the fear of the future predominates, there may be a philosophy of life such as 'if everything is going to end, let it end now, rather than living such a thing for three years and five years'. We do not know if there is such a philosophy of life in the family. According to what was told in this case, the sister seems to be the leader, she may have such a plan to protect her other siblings, we don't know. We need to see what the Forensic Medicine will reveal. On the other hand, we also need to look at the family's social contacts, communication styles, what was said on the phone last time, where they went. For example, there are some sects in the West, when a leader makes a decision, they all do it, they commit mass suicide, for example. Whether there was such a leadership relationship in this case should also be examined."
Both psychological and social aspects should be examined
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that it is also necessary to make an evaluation in terms of social dimension; "In this case, it is also necessary to evaluate it in terms of social dimension. In suicide cases, these people prepare as if they are going on a long journey. They give clues somehow. Those around them may notice them. This family lives in an apartment building, but according to the stories, there is no neighborly relationship here, maybe they refused, we don't know. We see in some developed countries that social service institutions take responsibility to prevent such situations. When there are such cases, the social service agency goes to the houses to see if there are any problematic people in the community, in the neighborhood, in the surrounding area, before anything happens to them, and makes a report and gives advice. If there are health problems and needs, state support is provided."
Society needs to learn from this incident
Noting that in this case, if the situation of the siblings is recognized in advance, it may be possible to take some precautions and support the family, Tarhan said, "People who live such a communal life definitely need support. Let me give an example from one of my patients; there was a serious bond between mother and child. The child was not letting the mother breathe. We took the child to the hospital for treatment, this child started to say no and do things on his own. The mother even kidnapped the child. According to what was told in the case of adult siblings, there is mutual psychological feeding. All parties here are feeding each other. If this had been recognized, the siblings could have been separated with expert reports and the necessary treatments could have been given to those people. We also need to learn a social lesson here. All neighbors and people in the neighborhood need to learn a lesson. We need to be more aware of our surroundings and have more sensitive communication. In our culture, there is a culture of neighborliness, in other words, there used to be a neighbor's pot; the saying "what's cooked at home falls to the neighbor" comes from there. When food was cooked, it was given to the neighbor. These ties have weakened. This is a result of the damage our modernization has done to us. In this respect, we should all pause and think, we should take lessons for ourselves."
