Benefits of Zen and Mindfulness Meditation on Mental Faculties

Dr. Jasung Kim has served as a psychiatrist in South Korea and the United States for more than three decades. In addition to treating patients with a wide range of conditions, Dr. Jasung Kim has received special training in psychoanalysis, and completed a Schizophrenia and Neuro-imaging fellowship at Yale University. During his spare time, Dr. Kim enjoys singing and reading, and practices Zen meditation.

Regular meditation has been found to offer a host of benefits, from better sleep to relief from physical pain, and there are many mental advantages to the practice as well. Zen meditation requires the practitioner sit quietly with their eyes open, focusing on breathing rather than on shutting down thinking altogether. A 2008 study on Zen meditation compared brain scans of individuals who had been meditating for more than three years, and newcomers to the practice. The results suggested meditation may enhance the brain’s ability to block distraction.

The ancient Buddhist practice of mindfulness meditation, which encourages practitioners to remain present in the moment, noticing and accepting feelings as they appear, has also proven mentally beneficial, and can help individuals with anxiety or depression.

MRI scans of people practicing mindfulness meditation have shown a reduction in the size of the amygdala - the part of the brain that prompts the “fight or flight” response. This shrinkage allows the part of the brain used in awareness, concentration and decision-making to expand. In effect, meditation seems to enable humans to react more thoughtfully to stressful situations.                            

Humanitarian Efforts of Doctors Without Borders

A psychiatrist with more than 30 years of medical experience, Dr. Jasung Kim served as an army and child psychiatrist and on the staff of a mental facility in South Korea before relocating to the US in 1995. Dr. Jasung Kim currently works as a staff psychiatrist at Nebraska’s Lincoln Regional Center, and is a supporter of Doctors Without Borders.

Established in 1971, the Doctors Without Borders program organizes volunteer medical professionals around the world, providing emergency medical attention to people in need. The organization also strives to improve or correct the following humanitarian issues in the countries they service:

- Armed Conflict. Volunteer doctors assist individuals in war-torn nations such as Syria and Libya, who are suffering from mental illnesses caused by trauma, including sexual violence.

- Natural Disasters. Supply warehouses around the world enable Doctors Without Borders workers to respond swiftly to unexpected disasters, such as tsunamis, typhoons, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

- Neglected People. In countries like Cambodia, impoverished people are suffering from HIV, tuberculosis, and malnutrition. Doctors work to control infections and ensure that the population has access to medication.

- Refugees and Internationally Displaced People (IDPs). Around the world, close to 60 million people have been forced to leave their homes due to persecution of their nationality or religion. Doctors Without Borders supplies psychological care and nutritional aid to these victims.