Community practices as coping mechanisms for mental health in Kashmir

Abstract

With a steady rise in mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Kashmir, the need to address mental health in this region becomes important. This paper reports on traditional and current community mental health coping mechanisms among residents in Kashmir. Six focus group discussions (FGD) were facilitated with key informants. Data were analyzed via a thematic analytic approach. Community coping mechanisms reported include social spaces and shared chore spaces, cultural practices, shrines and religious places, faithealers. These findings demonstrate community strengths that can leverage to build additional coping strategies and resilience among people.

Introduction

Across global communities, religious and spiritual beliefs and practices have been demonstrated as effective strategies to cope with mental health issues (Verghese, 2008). As there is a dearth of mental health professionals across the globe, resources for seeking help for mental disorders are a challenge (Garg et al., 2019). Religion and spiritual practices have been adopted to fulfill this lacuna (Behere et al., 2013), especially in areas like the Kashmir region of India where mental health needs are high and mental health resources are low. Kashmir has experienced significant social and political turmoil for the past several decades. In addition to conflict, natural disasters including the 2005 earthquake and 2014 floods, unemployment, uncertainty, and poverty have exacerbated mental health issues (Margoob & Ahmed, 2006; Shoib et al., 2014; Shoib & Arafat 2020a). These ongoing issues influence every sphere of life and cause distress and misery, exacerbated by a fragile economy and the disintegration of family and social relationships. Several mental disorders including post-traumatic disorder, depressive disorders, and anxiety disorders are on the rise in Kashmir as compared to other places (Housen et al., 2017). If on the one hand, mental disorders are on the rise, on the other hand, society has also provided mechanisms for undoing stress or coping.

Coping refers to an individual’s cognitive and behavioral attempts to balance intrinsic or extrinsic demands. Coping in itself may be exhausting or difficult (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). In the context of mental health, coping refers to the patterns adopted by individuals to deal with symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health symptoms (Shoib et al., 2014), etc. Coping patterns are mostly derived from cultural or social practices and tend to be easily accessible options for the individual. Broadly, they are either positive or negative. Positive mechanisms entail managing mental health issues to build positive changes in attitude and personality. These include meditation, spiritual activities, sports, and using cultural coping mechanisms. Negative coping mechanisms, as the name suggests, are the use of harmful methods (to self and others) to manage mental health issues and can include violent behavior, abuse, denial, self-harm, drug misuse, etc. (Cramer, 2015). Since this paper aims at understanding community practices as coping mechanisms for mental health in Kashmir, therefore, it warrants an interdisciplinary treatment. It is because this problem lies at the intersection of the disciplines of psychology, anthropology, and sociology. With respect to psychology, one of the ways of contextualizing this problem can be through the psychology of rituals. Rituals are the traditional coping patterns that are often functional and serve as positive responses to natural and other disasters. The engagement of affected people in performing various rituals helps them to divert their attention from their traumatic experiences and move towards healing. For example, funeral rituals enable healing for the bereaved (Aldwin, 2004). Likewise, these rituals provide the mechanisms for stress busters in everyday life and thereby help to reduce the burden on mental health services and do away with its limitation of having a wider reach owing to the associated labeling and taboos. In Kashmiri society, as in most of the world, mental health-related issues are considered taboo, as a person suffering from such issues is seen as weak or labeled in derogatory terms. (Shoib & Arafat 2020b). Furthermore, the lack of awareness about mental health disorders and inadequacy of medical and psychiatric facilities available in the region results in many untreated patients with severe mental disorders wandering freely. In addition to the taboo associated with mental health issues, wrong causal attributions are linked with mental disorders, for example, the idea that mental illness is due to evil spirits (Sewilam et al., 2015). Taboo and stigma towards mental illness stand in contrast to the general perspective about health, where being physically unwell more often leads to sympathy from society (World Health Organization, 2017). Even in diseases that have traditionally been accompanied by stigma, misconceptions, and social ostracization such as leprosy and tuberculosis, this stigma has diminished, as effective treatments for these conditions have become available (Crabb et al., 2012; Heijnders & Van Der Meij, 2006). The lack of adequate and effective treatment for mental health diagnosis allows stigma to thrive. Current efforts to create awareness about mental health issues are insufficient to overcome stigmatization. Even though the National Mental Health Program and similar initiatives have provisions for disseminating information through Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) activities, the impact on the ground is insignificant (Roy & Rasheed, 2015). Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF), an international organization working on mental health issues world-wide, used to run a program in Kashmir for creating awareness about mental health disorders and encourage treatment-seeking behavior. The radio and TV program ‘Alawbayaalaw’(Alawbayaalaw) is a Kashmiri phrase that translates to a call inviting someone towards yourself to talk or listen) discussed mental health issues, the stigma surrounding them, and the options for treatment of mental distress. Still, stigma continues to be a deterrent addressing mental health in Kashmir as it contributes to the under-reporting of mental health issues, failure to reach out for help, and delays in the rehabilitation of people suffering from mental health issues. Consequently, after examining the intensity of mental disorders, the dearth of resources to combat mental health issues, and also the reluctance to use these resources due to the associated stigma, it seems appropriate to link the organic community-based rituals to their adaptive functions for individuals. What is a ritual? Ritual is defined as (a) predefined sequences characterized by rigidity, formality, and repetition that are (b) embedded in a larger system of symbolism and meaning, but (c) contain elements that lack direct instrumental purpose. (Hobson, et al., 2017). There are many ways of conceptualizing rituals, and one of them is (Hobson, 2017) organizing framework of rituals. It focuses on three primary regulatory functions of rituals: regulation of (a) emotions, (b) performance goal states, and (c) social connection through bottom-up processes of ‘biased attention’ and ‘encoding and physical movement’ and top-down processes of ‘social and self- signalling’ and ‘meaning creation and transference’ (Hobson, 2017). Given this framework of rituals, religious rituals form a very important aspect of rituals operating in Kashmir. Religiousness remains an important aspect of human life and it usually has a positive association with good mental health. (Moreira- Almeida et al, 2006). Research demonstrates that greater religious involvement is associated with greater psychological well-being and less mental health symptoms including depression and suicidal thoughts and behavior. This effect is even stronger among those in stressful situations (Moreira-Almeida et al., 2006). Religion may play a similar role in Kashmir. The valley is known to have been an abode of saints “PirVaer or Rishi Vaer” and thus, is known across the world for its shrines. People of the valley visit such shrines, which offer them peace of mind and tranquility (Knott, 2016). This practice is centuries old and deeply rooted in local culture, and has been credited with peaceful coexistence among various sections of the community in Kashmir (Nadeem, 2020). However, limited attempts have been made to explore community practices and how such practices have helped to provide a helping hand during stressful situations. This paper aims to analyze the nature of the community practices adopted by the people of Kashmir as a response to mental health problems. In addition to the psychology of rituals, the present research can also be contextualized from a sociological perspective through the (Berger, 1967) sociology of knowledge of social reality. In the present research, it is the practice of certain rituals in the history of Kashmiri society that may have acted as stress busters or coping mechanisms at a community level. However, the focus of this research is not sociological, so it doesn’t aim to provide the meaning, evolution and comparison of social rituals as they operate in Kashmiri society.

Material and methods

Geographical area of the study

The study was conducted in the Kashmir division of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) which is the northern most part of India. For this study, the rural district of Budgam and the urban areas of Srinagar were included. The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir is bordered by Pakistan in the west, UT of Ladakh on the northern and eastern side, and the States of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab lie South. As per the census 2011, the combined population of two UTs is 12.54 million accounting for 1.04% of India’s population. The rural and urban population constitutes 72.62% and 27.38% respectively. District Budgam is at a distance of approximately 30 km from District Srinagar. In each district, the target areas for the purpose of the study were selected randomly and were closer to each other. The investigating team prepared a list of the villages and municipal wards from the target areas and randomly selected 10 villages from the rural area of Budgam, and 10 wards from the urban area of Srinagar. The participants/respondents from 10 locations in Srinagar and 10 locations in Budgam were interviewed separately at a convenient place. The researcher initiated the discussion and recorded the responses of all the participant members until all the members were able to share their views. They were informed about the location and timings of the FGD in advance to make it convenient for them to participate. Inclusion criteria were people aged 45 or older so that they have the knowledge, experience, and being a resident of one of the two regions of interest. The lead researcher met with village heads and chairpersons to identify potential focus group members who would likely have a rich understanding of local customs and then directly approach residents to invite them to participate. Potential participants were informed of the study design and purpose, the voluntary nature of participation, that focus groups would be audio recorded and transcribed, and the confidentiality of data collection and reporting. All participants consented to the study before data collection. One focus group was conducted in the rural area and one in the urban area.

Process of creating interview guide

Building from the extant literature on socio-cultural practices in Kashmir, the research team developed a focus group protocol in collaboration with community members and socio-religious leaders of both districts. Focus groups are relevant when the researcher is looking for a range of ideas, aims at understanding differences in perspectives between groups or categories of people, and seeks to uncover factors that are behind opinions, motivation, or behavior (Krueger & Casey, 2000). Three stakeholder meetings were held, with 4–5 members participating in each meeting. The meetings generally lasted about one hour and involved three men and two women from each of the rural and urban areas. Involving women in these meetings was an asset to this study; traditionally women in this region stay indoors and do not prefer to meet unknown persons. After the formulation of the issues for the discussion, a pilot study was conducted with two FGD groups. The interview guide was refined after the pilot study to include more questions for the conduct of the FGD. Questions revolved around common social spaces in Kashmir, cultural practices, socio-religious practices, the role of shrines and religious places, and how such practices were used as a mode of coping against mental distress. Questions included not only thematic queries but also structural positioning under various themes they covered. Such positioning offered conceptual understanding to those who may not have been involved in tool construction yet are involved in data collection and analysis.

Some questions asked during the interview were: can you share about the community practices which bring people together and help each other so as to relieve their stress? What are common social spaces for community members and how do such spaces help to deal with distress? What are the socio religious practices and how they help to combat mental health issues in the community?

The FGD was held at various local (urban and rural) convenient community settings. Three FGDs were conducted at marriage halls in the urban settings of Srinagar and the adjacent urban areas. The other three FGD were conducted at parks and community lands of the rural settings of Budgam district of Kashmir. All discussions were audio-recorded. The discussions of the group continued until all the members were able to share their views. Organically, FGDs averaged 80 minutes in length, and the discussions were held in Kashmiri, Urdu, and English. The recorded discussions were transcribed by the researchers themselves, with the assistance of the Kashmiri language experts. The data was collected in the summer season from July 2019 to November 2019.

Data analysis

Data from the focus groups was explored via a thematic analysis. After transcription of the recorded data, the data was translated into english and read several times to get an in-depth insight (UB). We used manual coding to arrive at the codes. The researchers (UB and SS) read the transcripts and worked independently to develop the codebook. The codebook was further refined as part of the subsequent coding and re-coding process, which was again done independently by the researchers. Once the preliminary coding was done, the researchers further refined the codes by an iterative process of rereading the primary data to mark any differences between the various researcher’s codebooks, and comparing use of codes by all of the researchers until agreement was reached. In resolving coding differences among the three authors, the final call was made only after consultation with the other authors and experts in the field of qualitative research. The emerging themes were reviewed to make sure they accurately represented the data by comparing the themes against the transcribed data.

Results

The majority of participants were above the age 50, almost equally from rural and urban areas (Table 1). There were twice as many men as women. The majority of respondents had the educational attainment of graduation (12 years school and 3 years college) or below. The participants’ occupations ranged from managerial, to social service, to a homemaker.

Table 1.

Participant profiles of six experimental FGDs.

Participant Profile
Item	Frequency
Age in Years
40–45	08
46–50	10
51–55	15
56 & Above	15
Gender/Sex
Male	32
Female	16
Education Level
Post Graduate	15
Graduate	18
Higher Secondary	07
High School	05
Profession
Government service	10
NGO Worker	05
Home Maker	16
Farmer	10
Business	07
Place of Residence
Rural	26
Urban	22

The four themes that emerged from the study are described in the following section to highlight the various community coping practices for Mental Health in Kashmir as reported by FGD participants. In each theme, a comprehensive discussion is presented along with participants’ narratives.

Social spaces and shared chore spaces provided opportunities to destress

Data from FGD suggest that, traditionally, people in Kashmir benefitted from community-based tasks and chores carried out in common social spaces that provided opportunities for community building and sharing issues of concern and interest, which served as important coping mechanisms. Participants said that an example of a community coping mechanism popular in Kashmiri society used to be “paend” which refers to a common place or space. (Paend is a Kashmiri word for a gathering of people at a common place, usually within a residential area, to talk and discuss matters of interest) whereas in “mohallas,” people gather together to gossip. (Mohalla refers to a residential area, especially in semi-rural and rural areas, categorized mostly on basis of caste, occupation or sect.)

One female participant said that there were community places such as river side ghats(river banks) known as “yaarbals” in Kashmiri where women would come to wash utensils or clothes and would engage in conversation, resulting in catharsis. (Ghats and Yaarbals are Kashmiri names for places reserved by riversides for people to wash themselves or clothes.) Yaarbals were common meeting places where women were able to vent their feelings. These mechanisms were more like informal self-group counseling sessions conducted by people themselves. One of the discussants mentioned that the close-knit structure of the society meant that the children and young adults socialized and spent time together, leading to creation of recreational spaces and resulting in decreased stress. Participants felt that various social institutions and cultural practices played a major role in constructing experiences and helped in giving meaning to human lives.

During the discussion, participants stated that many practices such as having a community place to congregate and exchange news or extend support such as ‘paends’or riverside washing-bathing places (yaarbaals) can be reinforced and supported by social networks that may have been severely fractured and dislocated during conflict. This was articulated by the participants in their quotes:

Participant No. 3 (Female) “In my childhood days, it was in our daily routine to go to yaarbal for washing utensils. We used to have conversations with our friends or acquaintances there. We would discuss anything that would cross our mind. Spending a day without those conversations seemed incomplete.”

Participant No. 6 …. (Male)) I remember whenever I used to come back from my job, my first priority was to reach the waanipaend in our locality. After spending hours in hard work, I along with my companions used to discuss politics there. Those discussions would act as stress buster.

Particpant:1 (Male) I routinely used to spend time on wanipaend which acted as a stress buster in my life. The work stress accumulated during the day was dissipated while interacting with the people at wannipeand. This was also a source of getting information about the world’s happenings and cultural practices. In short, I would say that I miss the time I used to spend at wannipeand and the benefits it provided. The verbatim quotes given above point towards the importance of social gatherings so much that they had become part and parcel of daily lives.

Cultural practices and events offered comfort and community

Participants reported that Kashmir was rich in cultural practices that involved meeting in large numbers or visiting each other, providing platforms for venting. Kashmiris had a long, drawn-out process of visiting anyone who was unwell, or going to meet relatives of someone who had passed away at certain time intervals that helped people who were vulnerable and prone to stress or depression not to feel lonely (FGD No3). This support system helped lessen the feelings of isolation and loss by replacing it with brotherhood and collective mourning. Mourning a loved one according to Islam entails a mourning period of only three days; however, in Kashmir the mourning period is concluded with congregational prayers for the departed known as fatehkhwani, on the fourth day of the demise, which is called Rasm e Chaharum. Often the 15^th and 40^th days after demise and the 1^st anniversary are commemorated with Quran Khwani, a practice where verses of Quran are recited for the soul of the departed to rest in peace. A regular point that emerged during the discussion was that it is very common for people, including relatives and neighbors, to visit the family of the deceased on the first festival after his/her passing away. Several participants opined that these practices have evolved culturally and are exclusively focused on providing companionship to the grieving family. It is very significant in the context of mental health as these practices ensure the well-being and provision of a support system to people vulnerable to mental distress. Such practices also provide a strong coping mechanism via sharing of grief and indulging in religious practices that prove satisfying to the people. This idea is demonstrated by the following quote from FGD 2:

Participant No 1 … (Male): I feel very nostalgic about such congregations, which acted as comfort, even at the time of grief. The practices included the gatherings at the times of need, like funerals, which acted as an expression of solidarity. Prayers for the deceased at their residences by the neighbors, community members and relatives in the gatherings have also been major ways of bringing relief to the families of the deceased. Further, the food for the first three days of grief (in case of passing away) is also served by the assigned community members or the neighbors. (P2FGD1)

Participant No 6 … (Female): Mohalla committees or the funeral committees have been formed in many places in Kashmir; such committees would take care of the bereaved family for three days and express solidarity with the family.

Participant No 5 … (Male): On the festival of Eid, I used to visit my neighbors and relatives to extend good wishes and celebrate. During the day I used to play, laugh, exchange sweets and often had lunch/dinner with them. These festivals would provide me an opportunity to sit and relax and share my feelings, issues and challenges with others thus relieving myself. The narrations quoted above highlight the role festivals and condolences play in enhancing social solidarity and cohesion

During the discussions, most of the group members revealed that marriages in Kashmir are a lengthy affair, with long, drawn-out and well-defined festivities and occasions. They involve getting together of relatives, friends, and neighbors, with everyone contributing in one way or the other to the completion of tasks in a marriage. Marriages provide a good platform for people to talk and engage in productive work. Gatherings of women in marriages and other functions serve both as fronts for mental well-being and also as political statements in Kashmir. The merrymaking, singing and dancing often are an opportunity for people to unwind and for people to come closer, since marriages in Kashmir also mean a chance for strained relationships to be mended. Marriages in Kashmir, like other functions, include eating while sharing a plate between four people. This way of eating is prescribed in Islam as it leads to blurring of socio-economic divides and promotes togetherness, warmth, and belongingness. Kashmiri marriages are a good example of how a community comes together to help a certain family like an extended family (FGD No 4).

Participant No 5 … (female): “We are fond of marriage functions. Marriage festivities are a source of enjoyment for all of us. All the near and dear ones meet at the functions and chat long over tea and food. Taking food together gives us a sense of collectiveness and vent to our feelings”

One of the participants shared that Kashmir has seen certain practices such as wartav, (cash given at the time of marriage as a token of love, relationship and support), which is a ritual where people visit each other during marriages, deaths, or other functions such as clearing of exams by children and pay some amount of money to the host family. The rationale behind wartav lays in the poor socio-economic conditions of people in Kashmir; as a society people would pool this money for the family so that family would not feel alone or burdened by the expenses involved. Meeting and greeting each other among Muslims in kashmir on festivals like Eid was also described by participants as an important de-stressor for the Muslim community that is also recommended as part of religious teachings (sunnah) by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Some participants perceived that the exchange of greetings and celebration of festivals was not limited to Muslims, but also involved people across religions celebrating festivals together. An example of this is the celebration of Shivratri or Herath, celebrated by Kashmiri Hindu families, also known as pandits. The pandit families would distribute walnuts among each other and their Muslim neighbors; this practice would ensure cordial relationships between the two communities and would foster a peaceful environment. Among the Sikh community, festivals are an occasion to travel, picnic, visit Gurudwaras, and engage in recreational activities. A close look at cultural and religious practices reflects that there is immense significance placed on recreation, exercise, physical fitness, relations between neighbors, family, etc. This enables a support system and positive influences and facilitates people’s mental well-being. (FGD No 2)

ParticipantNo 1 … (Male): “Often in marriage people eat together in a common platter known as trami, which enhances the sharing and strong bonding among the people. This practice is part of the Kashmiri culture and makes people relax and prevents isolation.”

Participant No 12 … (Female) Marriage is a source of happiness and a platform of sharing our problems and receiving the possible solution. Besides marriages provided an opportunity to enquire and know about the wellbeing of our relatives, thus strengthening our social network. These narrations reflect cultural events and practices that strengthen social and cultural interactions and act as stress busters.

Shrines and religious places offer comfort and unity

Religion propagates positive practices related to physical and mental health, providing people with positive coping mechanisms. Participants shared examples of how muslims in kashmir encourage social habits that facilitate mental health and well-being include meeting neighbors, maintaining good relationships with relatives, and engaging in exercise and games to keep fit both mentally and physically.

While explaining the role of the shrines and religious places, the participants highlighted that Kashmir is a Muslim majority region and has traditionally been a Sufi society. It has depended on collective practices such as visiting shrines, collective prayers, and visiting Dargahs to maintain good mental health. These places act as hubs of conversation, presenting opportunities for both experience and grief sharing. During Urs (Urs is derived from the Arabic language and refers to the death anniversary of Sufi saints, prominently in South Asia) days specified for celebrating the birth or death of Sufi saints, shrines are open for people to meet and experience a collective sentiment of spirituality. These places of spiritual gathering also provide a common platform for everyone, regardless of their socio-economic status, and therefore prove to be accessible sources of coping for people. It is important to mention here that apart from being accessible to people across the socio-economic spectrum, these places help bring Shias and Sunnis (Shias and Sunnis are the two major schools of thought in the Muslim religion) closer, thereby propagating tolerance and peace. Visiting Sufi shrines often give people peace of mind, many in the valley have found solace and healing in Sufism.

(FGD No 5)

Participant No 4. … (Male): “Whenever I felt lost or any of my work gets obstructed, I straight away go to DargahShareef and pray there. There is so much of tranquility there; the storms inside me just get eased off. Visiting shrines and religious places has been a source of peace in the past and the present.”

Participant No 11 …. (Female) whenever things were falling apart in my life or they did not go as expected, I visited the nearby dargah and used to sit there for long. The essence or the aura at the dargah used to calm me down and bring a sense of tranquility/peace in my heart. The people I met there were having severe/major problems in their lives than what I had. This place also taught me an important lesson of life, to be content and not to whine over every minor happening.

Faith healers

The role of faith healers was reported by participants to be long-standing and critical in the management of stress and mental health issues in Kashmiri society. People in the past used to visit faith healers if they faced any problem causing distress in their lives. There was a positive effect of the faith healing process on the lives of the associated people, and society firmly believed in the traditional healers. Some of the common views shared by the FGD participants were that faith healers had four levels of knowledge; commonsense, rational knowledge of the scientist, the imaginative knowledge of the artist, and the spiritual knowledge of the mystic. All four had their relevance and none was to be discounted in the process of healing. In one of the studies conducted in Kashmir, it was found that 80% of patients had already visited a faith healer either once or multiple times before seeking psychiatric treatment which reflects one on hand, that people have a deep sense of faith and expectations from them and on the other highlights the acceptability and relevance of faith healers in the society (Amin, et al., 2021). Faith healers would patiently listen and pray for the person in distress and would sometimes give an amulet to be tied either on the neck or arm. Such practices would aid in healing or promote mental health. (FGD No 1) Participant No 3….(Female): ”In the past, people were very genuine. The faith healers in the past were very pious and honest. They would leave every leisure and comfort of theirs to attain spirituality. They would help the people to get rid of their problems through their spiritual power without any personal and economic greed.”

Discussion

The themes arrived at through coding the focus group discussion transcripts were going to social spaces and shared-chore spaces, performing cultural rituals of funerals, marriages, and festivals, visiting shrines and religious places, and visiting faith healers. The findings of this study reveal a very interesting pattern of a) shared spaces for unwinding ‘a paend’ for males and a ‘yarbal’ for females embedded historically in Kashmir`s culture b) shared adaptive cultural practices ranging from managing grief in funerals to celebrating weddings and festivals, c) firm beliefs in religion reflected in practices which range from visiting shrines to visiting faith-healers. These shared spaces and practices have done wonders for Kashmiris enabling them to cope with stress in multiple ways. One way of coping is to understand that you are not alone who is facing the problem, others too suffer (Podyal et al., 2009; Rao, 2011), this is what these shared spaces would ascertain. Another way coping predominately happens in Kashmir is through religious spaces and practices. Research is replete with examples of a positive correlation between religion and mental health (Adam & Ward, 2016; Badri et al., 2013; Sousa, 2013). This is the reason that the study of religion and spirituality has been introduced in mainstream psychology. One of the most concrete forms of this introduction is the establishment of the Division of Religion and Spirituality by the American Psychological Association in 1979. Our findings are consistent with those from noted mental health experts who have reported that Kashmir religion and clergy help with managing mental health issues among people (Muzaffar et al., 2012). The cure for the illness comes with the combined action of dua (prayer) and dava (medication) (Sharma et al., 2020). Furthermore, to understand these themes (going to social spaces and shared-chore spaces, performing cultural rituals of funerals, marriages, and festivals, visiting shrines and religious places, visiting faith-healers) from the organized framework of rituals, the comparison of these themes with an existing framework of rituals is warranted. Comparing these themes with the organizing framework of rituals by Hobson et al., (2017), it is assumed that regulation of (a) emotions, (b) performance goal states, and (c) social connection does occur through bottom-up processes of ‘biased attention’ and ‘encoding and physical movement’ and top-down processes of ‘social and self-signalling’ and ‘meaning creation and transference’. For example, the performing of the ritual of the funeral and the social support provided by the neighbors and relatives uses bottom-up processing which helps to regulate emotions of grief through attentional distraction and regulates social connection through perceptions of emotional synchrony. Likewise, celebrating festivals (like Eid, a Muslim festival, and Herath, a Hindu festival) together also helps to regulate social connections through joint attention and signals important social intentions and making a ritual socially meaningful and worthy of being learned. In a similar vein, visiting shrines, religious places, and faith healers help in significant ways to regulate emotions through creating feelings of self-transcendence and to regulate social connection through feelings of shared unity. In addition, to understand these themes from a sociological perspective, their comparison with social aspects of reality is warranted. As Berger (1967) proposed that reality is socially constructed. He explains it through examples of a reality of a Tibetan monk is different from that of an American businessman. Therefore, the reality of people living in Kashmir, an Indian state which was deeply influenced by Sufism reflected in its shrines and which is not as much a capitalist society as other metropolitan cities of India. Therefore, the rituals of a man sitting on a ‘paend’ and that of a woman sitting at a ‘yarbal’ world provide for the means of socialization in the relatively primitive and serene environs of Kashmir. Furthermore, Berger (1967) notes that besides the ideological foundation of the construction of truth in a society, its economical, political, and knowledge-related factors also influence the construction of social reality. In this study, although the participants gave elaborate details about the ways that cultural practices and events offered multiple opportunities for people to share, de-stress, and cope, conflict, urbanization, and commercialization have reduced or eliminated these practices, thereby, eliminating long-standing cultural coping mechanisms. This is particularly concerning given the increase in conflict and natural disasters that have occurred in the region over many years, which in turn have increased the need for effective coping mechanisms. The years of conflict and increasing urbanization and commercialization have resulted in the loss of spare time among the members of society and local communities in particular. During the FGD it was reported that people have become busy in their daily tasks, and the community activities of passing the time have become more individualistic and home-centric. Thus, people have fewer opportunities to meet each other except for important and compulsory tasks. Over the years the change in societal structures, the transition of families towards smaller units, and improvements in economic conditions have all led to the polarization of people based on class status. Participants highlighted that mohallas were compact units of closely knit neighbors that have given way to colonies, where people do not know or enquire about each other, resulting in increasing isolation. Additionally, the conflict has wreaked havoc on the mental wellbeing of people through individual and collective losses, and the changing social structure has eliminated the community coping mechanisms from the lives of people. These factors together have created a vacuum in the sphere of effective coping mechanisms that have been filled with negative methods of coping such as drug abuse or overuse of technology. Given these contrasts, steps such as periodical get-togethers during festivals, ceremonies, etc should be organized at the local levels to reinforce community bonding and revive community practices, which could help improve the overall well-being of the people of Valley.

Limitations

This study was conducted in two district of Kashmir and may not reflect the experiences of other districts. Participants were older people of a certain religion like Islam with 2/3^rd being men. This may limit the findings of our FGDs. Nonetheless, data from FGD participants provides useful information in considering ways to improve coping among the Kashmiri people.

Conclusion

Despite having a strong background of support systems and networks in Kashmiri society, years of conflict and the changes that have taken place in the social structure have left a chasm in traditional coping patterns by disrupting these community practices. Given the increasing health and mental health-related needs of residents of Kashmir, an intervention aimed at improving people’s mental well-being and redressing mental disorders becomes a priority. As the traditional infrastructure for such an intervention continues to be insufficient to meet the needs of the local communities, we need to look at sustainable options to revive community practices and coping structures in society to help people cope and recover. This can be done by organizing some cultural festivals to highlight the various community practices prevalent as a positive mechanism for mental health. Both print and electronic media can play a role in highlighting community practices for the general masses. Weekly/monthly meet-ups/gatherings of community members can be organized where elders would share their experiences through which important lessons of empathy, resilience, contentment, and brotherhood can be propagated. Programs specifically for mental health in the local language can be organized for wider coverage. Non Governmental Organizations working at the grass root level can be engaged in spreading awareness using folk traditions programs music and songs. Seminars and workshops can be organized in the area of community practices at the college and university level. Ladi-shah, story-telling can also be used as a medium for reviving positive mental health and well-being. The involvement of religious clerics or imams who lead congregational prayers could be well chalked out viz a viz reinforcing the concept of tending to one’s physical and mental well-being. Thus by reconnecting Kashmir with its rich cultural practices and traditional coping mechanisms, negative mental health outcomes may be reduced.