Seasonal Affective Disorder in India: What It Is, Why It's Different Here, and What Actually Helps
By Dr. Prerna Kohli | Clinical Psychologist, Gurugram | Updated June 2026
Seasonal Affective Disorder— SAD— is a pattern of depression that follows a reliable seasonal cycle, typically beginning and remitting at approximately the same time each year, and recurring over at least two consecutive years. It is not simply "feeling a bit down in winter." It is a clinically significant depressive episode with a seasonal trigger, and it affects a meaningful proportion of the population— globally, and in India.
The challenge for Indians engaging with information about SAD is that virtually all the research and most of the public-facing content on this condition was developed in Northern Europe and North America, where the primary driver is winter darkness. The seasonal triggers in India are different— and this has practical consequences for how the condition presents, who is affected, and which self-help strategies are most relevant.
Seasonal affective disorder in India is not primarily a winter condition— it is a monsoon condition, and for many people in urban North India, also a summer condition. The mechanisms are the same as in Northern Europe: reduced light exposure, disrupted circadian rhythm, reduced physical activity, social withdrawal. But the season that triggers them is different. And the self-help advice needs to reflect that— because telling someone in Mumbai in July to "get more daylight" as though they were experiencing a Swedish December is advice that ignores their actual situation.Dr. Prerna Kohli, PhD— Clinical Psychologist, in practice since 1993
Seasonal Mood Patterns in India: The Three Problem Seasons
Unlike the simple winter-summer pattern of Western SAD, mood seasonality in India is more complex, varying significantly by region and individual physiology. Three seasonal patterns are most clinically relevant:
The most clinically significant season for mood in most of India. Weeks of reduced sunlight, confinement indoors, disrupted routines, and the sensory monotony of persistent rain and grey skies combine to produce the same neurological effects as Northern winter darkness— reduced serotonin production, disrupted circadian rhythm, and the social withdrawal that feeds depressive patterns. The monsoon is India's functional equivalent of the Northern European winter for SAD purposes.
Particularly for urban North Indians, extreme summer heat functions as a second seasonal mood trigger— confining people indoors, disrupting sleep through heat, reducing social and physical activity, and creating a different form of seasonal withdrawal. Heat-related mood effects are less studied than light-related ones, but clinically well-observed: the combination of sleep disruption, reduced outdoor activity, and sensory discomfort of sustained extreme heat consistently affects mood and cognitive function.
Relevant primarily for North India— Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, UP— where winter brings genuine cold, reduced daylight hours, and some of the same light-reduction effects seen in Western SAD. The pattern is milder than in Northern Europe (India's latitude means significantly more winter sunlight than London or Stockholm) but can still be clinically significant for people with seasonal mood sensitivity, particularly when combined with fog and air quality issues that further reduce effective light exposure.
Recognising the Symptoms: Seasonal Slump or Clinical SAD?
Most people experience some mood variation across seasons— this is a normal physiological response to changes in light, temperature, and activity level. The distinction between ordinary seasonal fluctuation and clinical SAD is, as with most mood conditions, primarily about severity, duration, and impact on functioning.
Persistent low mood appearing at roughly the same time each year, not explained by life circumstances
Increased fatigue and sleep— sleeping more than usual but still feeling tired; difficulty getting out of bed
Increased appetite— particularly craving carbohydrates; weight gain during the affected season
Difficulty concentrating and reduced cognitive sharpness, particularly during the affected season
Social withdrawal— reduced desire for company, cancelling plans, preferring isolation during the affected season
Loss of interest in activities usually enjoyed, which returns when the season changes
Feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness that are notably absent at other times of year
Recurring pattern— the same constellation of symptoms appearing in the same season for at least two consecutive years
The key clinical indicator is the seasonal recurrence. If you notice yourself thinking "I always feel like this in monsoon" or "every year around this time I go through a bad patch"— this pattern recognition is itself clinically important information worth taking seriously.
"She came to me in October— having, she said, 'finally come out the other side' of what she described as three terrible months. She was 34, worked in a Gurugram tech firm, and had a history she had never previously connected or named: every year from roughly mid-June through September, she became, in her words, 'a different person.' Slower, heavier, disinterested in her work and friendships, eating badly, sleeping too much and still exhausted. Every year, October came and she felt normal again."
"She had attributed it, over the years, to stress at work, to a difficult patch with a partner, to the general difficulty of adulting. It had never occurred to her that the thing these periods had in common— beyond the symptoms themselves— was the season. When I drew that out for her, laid it across four years, she went quiet for a moment and said: 'It's always the monsoon. Every single time.' That recognition— that this was a pattern with a physiological basis and not evidence of something fundamentally wrong with her— was itself significant relief. We spent the following months building a monsoon-specific plan for the year ahead. The next monsoon was, by her account, the least difficult in years."
The India-Specific Challenge: Why Generic SAD Advice Doesn't Always Help
Why the Standard SAD Advice Needs Adaptation for India
"Get more sunlight" during monsoon. This is the most commonly cited SAD self-help strategy— and it is genuinely useful when the problem is winter darkness. During the Indian monsoon, however, the practical ability to access sunlight is significantly reduced for weeks at a time. The advice needs to become: maximise whatever light is available, use bright indoor lighting, prioritise any break in the clouds, and if possible, consider a therapeutic light lamp— devices designed to replicate the spectrum and intensity of outdoor light— which are now available in India.
Heat and summer confinement require a different approach. For summer SAD, the self-help strategy is almost the inverse of winter SAD— it is about managing the confinement and sleep disruption caused by heat rather than seeking more light. This means: prioritising sleep through better summer sleep hygiene (cooling, blackout curtains, consistent sleep times despite early sunrise); building social and physical activity into the cooler morning and evening hours; and managing the heat-induced irritability that can masquerade as depression or worsen it.
The cultural dismissal of mood as a medical issue. In India, seasonal low mood is very frequently dismissed— by the person experiencing it, by family, and sometimes by non-specialist doctors— as "just the weather," laziness, or a lack of mental fortitude. This dismissal delays both self-help engagement and professional support. Recognising seasonal mood change as a genuine physiological pattern— not a character flaw— is itself part of the intervention.
The most important thing about seasonal affective disorder is the word "disorder"— it is not "seasonal affective preference" or "seasonal affective personality." It is a disorder: a clinically significant disruption to mood, functioning, and quality of life that follows a predictable seasonal pattern. And like other disorders, it benefits from being addressed rather than endured. The Indian tendency to simply push through difficult seasons— to treat seasonal low mood as a test of character rather than as a physiological condition— delays effective management and prolongs unnecessary suffering.Dr. Prerna Kohli, PhD— Clinical Psychologist, in practice since 1993
Self-Help Strategies That Actually Work— Adapted for India
During monsoon: take outdoor time during any break in clouds; sit near windows; use bright overhead lighting indoors rather than dim lamps; consider a SAD light therapy lamp (available online) for morning use. During winter: morning outdoor walks before 10am capture the most beneficial light exposure. Bright light in the first hour after waking is particularly effective at regulating circadian rhythm.
Regular physical activity is one of the most effective mood interventions available, with effects on serotonin and endorphins that are genuinely antidepressant. During confined seasons, adapt rather than abandon: yoga, home workouts, stair climbing, or dancing at home on days when outdoor exercise is not possible. Rhythmic, sustained exercise— walking, swimming, cycling— is particularly beneficial for mood.
SAD disrupts sleep— typically producing hypersomnia (sleeping too much, still exhausted) in monsoon/winter patterns, and insomnia in summer heat patterns. The most effective intervention in both cases is sleep schedule consistency: the same wake time every day, regardless of how you feel. This anchors the circadian rhythm and prevents the drift toward increasingly disrupted sleep that worsens mood.
Increased carbohydrate craving during low-mood seasons is neurologically driven— carbohydrates temporarily boost serotonin. The practical response is not to suppress the craving entirely, but to redirect it toward complex carbohydrates (brown rice, oats, whole grains, bananas, sweet potato) rather than simple ones, which produce the serotonin spike followed by the crash that deepens fatigue and mood disruption.
Social withdrawal during difficult seasons feels natural and even necessary— but it reliably worsens the mood it claims to be protecting against. The instinct to withdraw is itself a symptom of the condition, not a reasonable response to it. Actively maintaining social connection— even brief, low-effort contact— is a clinically important counter-measure, not a social nicety.
If you know your difficult season from experience, plan for it before it arrives. Schedule activities, social commitments, and self-care practices into the calendar before the season begins— when you are in a higher-energy state and capable of making good decisions. The low-energy, low-motivation period of the difficult season is not the time to improvise self-care; it needs to be pre-built into the structure of your days.
The confinement and disruption of difficult seasons increases stress, which worsens mood, which increases stress. A consistent daily practice— 10 minutes of breathwork, a body scan, a short meditation, or progressive muscle relaxation— creates a reliable circuit-breaker for the stress-mood spiral and provides the kind of structured self-regulation that difficult seasons erode.
If you suspect seasonal mood changes, track them deliberately for one full year— noting mood, sleep, energy, and social engagement across each season. This tracking converts a vague sense of "feeling worse at certain times" into concrete, datable evidence of a seasonal pattern— information that is valuable both for your own understanding and for any professional consultation.
The self-help strategies for seasonal affective disorder work— they are not placebos or generalities. But they work best when engaged with proactively, before the difficult season arrives and takes away the energy and motivation needed to implement them. The person who has built their monsoon plan in April— who has scheduled their morning walks, their social commitments, their sleep times— is in a fundamentally different position from the person who wakes up in July feeling low and tries to figure out what to do from within the depression itself. Preparation is not a luxury for people with seasonal mood patterns. It is the intervention.Dr. Prerna Kohli, PhD— Clinical Psychologist, in practice since 1993
Frequently Asked Questions
What is seasonal affective disorder and does it occur in India?
As Dr. Prerna Kohli explains: "Seasonal affective disorder is a pattern of depression that follows a seasonal cycle. In India, the relevant seasonal triggers are not the same as in Northern Europe or North America. For most Indians, the mood-relevant seasons are the monsoon— with weeks of reduced sunlight, confinement indoors, and disrupted routines— and for many urban Indians, the peak summer months, where extreme heat confines people indoors, disrupts sleep, and reduces social activity. The mechanisms are the same as Western winter SAD; the triggering season is different."
What are the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder?
Symptoms include persistent low mood appearing at the same time each year, increased fatigue despite adequate sleep, increased appetite (particularly carbohydrate craving), difficulty concentrating, social withdrawal, loss of interest in usually enjoyed activities, and feelings of hopelessness. The key distinguishing feature is the seasonal pattern— symptoms appear predictably at the same time of year and remit as the season changes. This recurring pattern, over at least two consecutive years, differentiates SAD from ordinary situational mood fluctuation.
Why does the monsoon affect mood in India?
The monsoon affects mood through reduced sunlight exposure (which reduces serotonin production and disrupts circadian rhythm), confinement indoors (which reduces physical activity and social interaction), disruption of daily routines, and the sensory monotony of weeks of unvarying rain and cloud. For people predisposed to seasonal mood vulnerability, these factors can trigger depressive episodes that lift reliably when the season ends— a pattern that, if it recurs annually, warrants clinical attention.
What self-help strategies are most effective for seasonal affective disorder in India?
Dr. Prerna Kohli recommends: maximising light exposure through morning outdoor time or bright indoor lighting; maintaining consistent exercise, adapted for confined seasons; protecting sleep regularity with consistent wake times; actively maintaining social connection rather than withdrawing; managing carbohydrate craving toward complex rather than simple carbohydrates; planning the difficult season in advance from a higher-energy state; and tracking mood across seasons to identify whether a recurring seasonal pattern exists.
When should I seek professional help for seasonal mood changes?
Professional support should be sought when seasonal depression significantly impairs daily functioning; when self-help strategies have not produced improvement over several weeks; when the pattern has recurred over two or more consecutive years with significant impact; or when there are any thoughts of self-harm. Seasonal affective disorder responds well to treatment— including cognitive-behavioural therapy, light therapy, and where appropriate, medication— and there is no benefit to enduring severe seasonal depression without professional support.
Know Your Season— Then Plan for It
The most useful reframe for seasonal mood patterns is this: knowing your difficult season is not a burden— it is an advantage. Most psychological difficulties arrive without warning. Seasonal affective disorder, by definition, announces itself in advance. You know it is coming, you know roughly when, and you can prepare for it while you still have the energy and clarity to do so.
That preparation— the monsoon plan built in April, the summer sleep structure established in March, the social commitments put in the calendar before the motivation to make them disappears— is not optimism. It is clinical intervention, available to anyone willing to take their seasonal pattern seriously enough to plan for it.
Struggling With Seasonal Mood Changes?
If self-help strategies have not been sufficient, or if your seasonal depression is significantly affecting your functioning or relationships, professional support can make a substantial difference. I offer confidential consultations from my practice in Gurugram, with online sessions available across India and internationally.
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About the author — Dr. Prerna Kohli
Dr. Prerna Kohli is a clinical psychologist with over 30 years of practice, based in Gurugram. She holds a PhD from Aligarh Muslim University, where she was a four-time gold medalist, and received the “100 Women Achievers of India” award from the President of India in 2016. A TEDx speaker and published author, she works with individuals, couples, and families through her private practice — in-clinic in Gurugram and online worldwide — with a particular speciality in NRI mental health.