New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- On a weekday morning in Gurugram, 25-year-old Ananya Agarwal, a client servicing executive in an advertising agency, slipped out of her office. The constant ping of emails, the chatter of colleagues, and the weight of deadlines had left her chest tight. She found herself in the washroom, locking the stall door behind her. "It's strange," she admitted later, "but sitting on that closed toilet seat felt safer than anywhere else in the building. I just breathed until I felt normal again."

Across cities in India, stories like Agarwal's are becoming increasingly common. Young people are seeking refuge in bathrooms, not for physiological needs, but for emotional survival. This growing phenomenon, dubbed "bathroom camping"...