Üsküdar University Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan underlined that the support that makes people who are exposed to earthquake trauma feel safe during this period is very important.
Noting that the shock period still continues for those exposed to earthquake trauma, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Although it has been 7-8 days, it still continues. During this period of shock, some people often feel emptiness. Some people become aggressive and act outrageous. It depends on the personality structure. Some people also become passive and depressed. There are people who live through these periods. Most of these shocks were overcome within 2-3 days of aid gone. If it lasts more than 3 days, medical attention is required,” he warned.
Noting that the temperature of the wound continues during this period, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Since the heat of the trauma continues, the support that will make people feel safe at the moment is very important in such times. It is very important to eliminate and clarify concerns about the future. It is very important for them to be able to establish bonds with their close circle and friends. Funerals began to be removed. This is mourning, he will live this mourning. You must not run away. If people run away from the scene, especially if the children are removed, the resolved trauma turns into unresolved trauma. He can't work out the trauma in his head. Participating in the ceremony, experiencing the pain allows the person to accept it mentally. Once accepted, it is easier to manage. When it is not accepted, the trauma continues like an open wound. That's why it's useful to live, if not in all the details of the trauma." he said.
Pointing out that if trauma is spoken for 60 minutes out of 50 minutes, the secondary trauma still continues, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan mentioned that they propose rapid normalization for this. Tarhan said, “This situation, which is defined as secondary trauma, has not experienced the trauma personally, but there are people who lost their relatives in the trauma indirectly or lived as if they were in it under the influence of the media, which mostly happened in the September 11 incident. Not only those living in that region, but the whole world talked about that trauma all the time. In such cases, if a person talks about trauma for 60 minutes out of 50, it means that the secondary trauma is continuing. For this, we propose rapid normalization. After the initial mourning period ends, it is necessary to normalize quickly, otherwise secondary trauma will continue, functionality will deteriorate, people will not be able to go to their homes and work, mental health disorders will occur a lot.” warned.
In this period, Professor, who warned that following the news constantly can cause secondary trauma. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “He has mental experiences related to this. The person is afraid to close his eyes. He does re-experiencing, which we call flashbacks. He's going through that trauma as if it happened an hour ago, not a week ago. If there is a click, it hops. Sleep depth is disturbed. These traumas indicate the presence of secondary trauma. Therefore, the person is related to the trauma; 'What's going on with me? He will say, 'I will help, I will collect this', and then he must return to his routine immediately. Sitting and watching TV all day at the moment causes secondary trauma for that person. Especially after a week has passed, it is necessary to leave it to cool. We have to watch the news at certain times a day and then return to routine life. Otherwise, the trauma will get out of control after a while. If trauma victims know that they are safe and that all the people of the country are helping in this regard, their worries about the future will decrease in this period.” said.
prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan mentioned that trauma can be considered as an opportunity to strengthen social morality. Tarhan; “We have post-traumatic maturation scales. Traumas can be individual traumas in a person's life, as well as natural disasters, traffic accidents, all kinds of fires, and there is a maturity scale after trauma in all kinds of traumas. Here, that person's individual perceptions and awareness are reviewed. Then their relationship is reviewed and their philosophy of life is reviewed. In such cases, after experiencing this trauma; 'What has this taught me?' can he say After experiencing trauma; 'Now I will give more importance to human relations, I will treat people better. I will do more good things, I give more importance to spiritual values.' If the behavior of the situation we call post-traumatic growth, such as post-traumatic growth, the person will come out of the trauma with gain. We call such situations even developing trauma. We can now consider trauma as an opportunity to strengthen social morality. Because religions are many, but morality is one. Almost all values are the same. For this reason, it is a serious opportunity to teach these moral values to the society. TOKİ houses were not demolished, but others were demolished. So there is a serious moral problem here. Let's make the biggest investment in post-traumatic growth right now the moral investment." he said.
Tarhan drew attention to the fact that decision-making managers have a very important role in bringing the society together so that there is no spark effect; “In every society, in every person, there is a bad part in all of us. The evil part is traumatized in such situations. Some people even become selfish; 'I am angry with nature, I am resentful, I will not even plant flowers anymore.' there are people who say This is something natural. Such reactions occur in humans at the first moment. This should not be generalized, but in our society, the roads from the trucks going to that region are closed at the moment. Our people here, as a large group, approached the mainstream with very serious empathy. This is an opportunity. It is necessary not to generalize or evaluate by looking at radicals. The sparking words here at the moment are very dangerous. Words at the moment are very effective. It is very open to what we call gray propaganda," he said.
Mentioning that children are shaped according to their mother, father or people they trust, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan mentioned that if the people whom the child trusts are calm, the child will also be calm. Tarhan said, “Children up to the age of 6-7 are different, children after the age of 6-7 are different. Usually children look to adults. If his mother, father or people he trusts are panicking, he will panic too. For young children, especially if the parents stay cool, he also stays cool. For other children, in such cases; 'Why, why did it happen?' they ask. In such cases, children can be given answers in a language they can understand, but the most important thing right now is; 'We'll talk about that later. There are visible reasons for this event, there are invisible reasons. There are material reasons, there are spiritual reasons. We'll talk about them in detail.' It is necessary not to silence the child by saying, but when we question and approach too judgmental and accusatory, the child has a traumatizing effect in his developing psyche. 'This is something we cannot avoid, it is a fact of life. What should we do to prevent such a reality from appearing in front of us again. From now on, we will rearrange our lives as before and after the earthquake.' By saying this, the child will not feel guilt or remorse. Approaches are made that will not make you feel bad and will not lose motivation towards life, but it is enough to hold your hand and make you feel that you are not alone.
prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan pointed out that keeping the caregiver constant as much as possible eliminates maternal deprivation. Tarhan; “It is the ideal foster mother for children aged 0-3. Consistent, stable relationship is required. In our culture, caregivers treat children very warmly. If possible, in nursing homes, the same caregiver takes care of the child during the day as if the mother goes to work, but goes home in the evening, but when leaving; 'I will come in the morning.' she leaves. Saying goodbye, she leaves. If this happens, there will be no fear of abandonment and alienation from life, as the mother knows that the person who replaces her will come next. Keeping the caregiver constant as much as possible eliminates maternal deprivation.
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