A young man collapses during a cricket match in Srinagar. A doctor in his early thirties suffers a fatal cardiac arrest after a long shift. A gym-going professional with no visible illness dies without warning. 

Such stories now travel through Kashmir with frightening frequency, turning private grief into a public fear.

Cardiac arrests among people under 35 once seemed rare in the valley. Today, families discuss them with growing alarm. 

Hospitals continue to examine cholesterol levels, blood pressure, diabetes, smoking habits, and hereditary conditions. Those medical causes remain important. 

But a larger truth now demands attention: emotional stress and depression have entered the center of this crisis.

Many of the young people dying suddenly do not fit the traditional image of cardiac patients. Several hold professional jobs, maintain active routines, and come from financially stable households. 

Their lives appear successful on the surface, but beneath that appearance sits a culture of relentless pressure that has tightened its grip on Kashmiri youth during the past decade.

Young Kashmiris now grow up inside a system that glorifies achievement while giving little guidance on emotional survival. Schools train students to secure ranks and degrees. Families push children toward prestigious careers. Social circles celebrate wealth, property, luxury cars, foreign education, and visible success. Social media amplifies that........

© Kashmir Observer