Consciousness and CBT

When René Descartes said "Cogito, ergo sum", we all thought how deep this saying is. So, is it our thinking that makes us humans human? We would probably say basically yes to this question, but when we think more comprehensively, the answer to this question will be partially yes. Who can claim otherwise that a leopard does not think while focusing on its prey? So, when Descartes said, "I can ignore my body, but I cannot ignore my thought," he was emphasizing the enormity of our brain.

In general, consciousness is the faculty that is generally accepted as the center of awareness, emotion, perception and knowledge in humans. It is the part of the mind that contains sensations, perceptions and memories, known through introspection, of which the mind is aware of its own contents. It is the faculty that is considered the center of awareness, emotion, perception and knowledge in humans. It is the part of the mind that contains sensations, perceptions and memories, known through introspection, where the mind is aware of its own contents.

Life began in the oceans, even single-celled creatures without a brain had the ability to sense and react to the environment. Our transition from single-celled organisms to multi-celled ones began with cells communicating with each other and working in coordination. Creatures came to land 360 million years ago, and the evolution of mammals began 200 million years ago. The first mammals had a small neocortex on their brain surface that enabled behavior. We do not have any information about how the neocortex was formed, but it emerged as a result of natural selection. We can say that it is the outcome of the race to stay alive.

In our ongoing evolution, the communication between our forebrain, which is growing in size, and the sub-regions within the frontal lobe and the parietal lobe, has increased. With this development, our motor movement control has improved.

The first primates appeared approximately 85 million years ago, and with the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago, the rise of mammals and primates began. When East Africa was covered with dense forests (23-4 million years ago), primates were accustomed to living in trees. With the change of continents and climate changes, the evolution of standing, color vision and idle hands, the flattening of the face and the shrinking of the chin have led to brain development.

The developing brain uses more energy. Today, the brain of an adult uses 20% of our daily energy. With the development of Broca's area 1.9 million years ago, development increased and the volume of the brain increased over the years. Cultural evolution entered our species and the ability to speak was acquired, and those who could not acquire this skill were excluded. The development of the brain accelerated with the development of language (Marcus 2003).

The development of the brain has always increased in volume until modern humans. On the other hand, volumetric developments in the brain stopped for 200,000 years. However, our brain has shrunk by 3-4% over 15-20 thousand years (Robson 2011). After this pause in volume increase, the most important development in brain evolution will be the increase in neuronal activity.

While chimpanzee and human brains show a similar development until the 16th week of pregnancy, the human brain continues to develop after the 16th week of pregnancy, but the chimpanzee brain continues to develop after the second week of Franchini (2015). regression begins (Sakai 2013).

Consciousness is observed in socially living creatures such as bees, chimpanzees and dolphins. Studies in recent years emphasize the communication established with the "mirror neuron" in the formation of consciousness. With mirror neurons, the organism activates both its own behavior and the behavior of others at the same time. Apart from humans; Its existence has been conclusively proven in macaque monkeys and songbirds. Its deepest effects are in the prefrontal cortex and inferior parietal lobe (speech and language) regions. Contributions of mirror neurons to evolution; adaption It is the development and development of skills such as social learning, understanding what others are doing, social learning, observation and imitation (Suzuki 2015).

The interaction of mirror neurons constitutes a process such as speech, feeling, empathy and thought. . It gives you the ability to read minds and record the behavior of others. By contributing to the internal experience of events and recording them in memory and thought, it can lead to the emergence of consciousness and to foresee the future. Just as we perceive that a person who looks with anger will display an aggressive attitude, and even look angry ourselves.

The act of imitation is of great importance in making humans a dominant being in nature. In this way, learning and cultural transfer were ensured. The human brain has evolved over generations and continues to reach greater understanding and awareness.

Consciousness is too complex a structure to be explained in a single sentence. Consciousness also represents mysteries; Unpleasant processes such as suffering and disappointment are also within consciousness. However, very few of these negativities are at the conscious level. In most people, these mysteries are similar to the structure we call the unconscious.

Discussion

Consciousness is a structure too complex to be explained in a single sentence. Consciousness also represents mysteries; Unpleasant processes such as suffering and disappointment are also within consciousness. However, very few of these negativities are at the conscious level. In most people, these mysteries are similar to the structure we call the unconscious.

19. Singmund Freud, a Viennese physician in the late 19th century and early 20th century, emphasized the importance of the unconscious. Freud is not the first person to emphasize the unconscious, but by establishing the topographic theory, he compared consciousness to an iceberg and opened an important door by saying that consciousness is the small visible part of the iceberg and the most important part is the invisible part.

Psychoanalysis founded by Freud and then Dynamic psychotherapies focus on unconscious conflicts as their basic therapeutic approach. They believe that by resolving these internal conflicts, the person will achieve spiritual balance and awareness.

Although psychoanalysis has lost its popularity today, it is still the most used psychotherapies. between. Cognitive behavioral therapies emerged as a result of the flirtation between behavioral therapies, which developed together with psychoanalysis and are opposite in many respects, and cognitive therapies, which are a type of therapy that focuses on mental processes and thought structure rather than behavior, since the 1960s.

We need to be alert to react to the stimuli around us. There is an opinion that people need to be alert for this. However, as a result of experiments, it has been proven that consciousness is not only open while awake (for example, dreams). Let's take the phenomenon of dreams; in our dreams, our self-perception is most of the time correct, we recognize the people in front of us and our body reacts according to the action we take. In other words, although we can talk about consciousness, it is often not possible to control it. Freud defined dreams as the royal road of the unconscious. In fact, if we start from this relationship, we can understand how close consciousness and unconscious are. If we need to give an example of the conditions in which consciousness is closed, the state of coma can be given as an example.

States of ecstasy can be given as an example of gaining or losing our consciousness. It is quite possible for us to lose control of our consciousness in intensely motivating activities such as meditation and dhikr.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a psychotherapy method developed by using psychological models that examine human behavior and affect. There are many studies proving that it is an effective method in many psychological problem areas.

Cognitive theory states that life memories in early childhood cause the development of basic thoughts and belief systems through learning. Basic thoughts and beliefs combine to form schemas. Schemas, on the other hand, affect rigid thought patterns and the way the individual perceives both himself and the world in his life. The purpose of CBT is to enable the person to get rid of the distressing situation by using his or her own resources. While doing this, it benefits from getting rid of inappropriate thoughts, homework or exercises.

Cognitive behavioral therapies are structured therapy methods that emphasize that our thoughts determine what we feel and how we behave. Basic learning theories and knowledge It draws from the principles of personal psychology. Cognitive behavioral therapy argues that rearranging the sentences a person uses in their inner speech in their own way of thinking will create appropriate regulation for that person's behavior (Ergene, 2008).

Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on the here and now. Psychoanalysis, on the other hand, does not focus on the here and now. On the other hand, although short-term psychodynamic psychotherapies focus on the here and now, they look for its implications in the past, that is, they again delve into the unconscious. Cognitive behavioral therapies deal with consciousness and its processes and focus therapy on the closer and more visible consciousness, that is, cognition, not on deep processes such as the unconscious.

While cognitive theory clinically conceptualizes the cognitive structure of the individual, the cognitions it deals with are divided into two: automatic thoughts and schemas. examines under the main heading. Schemas can be divided into two groups: intermediate beliefs and core beliefs. If we think of these three groups of cognition as three interlocking circles, automatic thoughts are at the surface, then intermediate beliefs, and fundamental beliefs are at the core (Türkçapar, 2008).

Automatic thoughts; It is the name given to the verbal and imaginary parts that make up the flow of cognition. The reason why these thoughts are called "automatic" is that they are thoughts and pictures that suddenly appear in the mind. CBT specifically deals with the negative automatic thoughts that accompany moments of emotional distress. Often these thoughts go unnoticed, while the accompanying emotion is. For example, when a student reads a question in an exam, he/she thinks, "I can't understand." An automatic thought may occur (Türkçapar, 2008).

Automatic thoughts distort the "objective situation" that the person encounters due to his/her current cognitive infrastructure, and as a result of this distortion, a number of dysfunctional emotions and behaviors often associated with these emotions emerge. causes. These behaviors mostly serve to maintain the existing cognitive infrastructure. This cognitive infrastructure is schemas (Özdel,2015).

Intermediate beliefs and rules; Intermediate beliefs and rules can be revealed from common and recurring themes in automatic thoughts by using probing techniques or scales. Even if it is not expressed very much in words, “if”

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