The Long Road to Healing

A Kashmiri therapist reflects on how decades of discord have reshaped the region's emotional landscape, and why caring for minds is now as vital as rebuilding roads.

- Dr. Musawir Mohsin Parsa

I have spent years watching patients in Kashmir walk into clinics with pain that has no clear name.

Some come complaining of backaches, dizziness, or breathlessness. Others describe sleepless nights or a strange heaviness that never leaves them.

When you listen longer, their stories unfold into something deeper: a life shaped by fear, uncertainty, and loss.

For over three decades, our valley has lived through cycles of unrest that have left marks far beyond the physical. The broken bones and shattered structures are visible. But the anxiety, trauma, and despair are not.

Yet it is these invisible wounds that have silently changed how people here think, feel, and relate to one another.

Studies over the years have shown alarming trends. At least one in five Kashmiris shows symptoms of depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress.