Srinagar, May 23 -- The doubling of mental disorders since 1990 is not a marginal development in global health; it is a profound transformation of the human condition. Mental illness has overtaken cardiovascular disease, cancer and musculoskeletal disorders as the leading cause of disability worldwide; a shift that underscores both the scale of the crisis and the fragility of the social structures that shape well-being. In 2023, nearly 1.2 billion people were living with a mental disorder, a figure that reveals not only the magnitude of suffering but also the inadequacy of current responses.

Anxiety and depression dominate this surge, disproportionately affecting women and adolescents. The highest burden lies among those aged 15 to 19, a...