For weeks, all anyone in Gurgaon and Delhi could talk about was the heat. 45 degrees. Power cuts. Stepping outside felt like opening an oven. So when the IMD said the monsoon would reach Delhi NCR by the end of June, it sounded like the rescue everyone was waiting for.
Then the skies turned grey, the first showers came — and you felt... worse. Heavier. Slower. Like someone turned the volume down on your motivation.
If that's you, you're not being ungrateful, and you're not imagining it. The monsoon genuinely affects mood, and there's a real mechanism behind it.
What the rain does to your brain
The biggest factor is light. During the monsoon, the sky stays overcast for weeks at a stretch. Less sunlight reaching your eyes sets off two changes in your brain.
First, serotonin drops. Sunlight is one of the main triggers for serotonin — the chemical tied to mood, calm, and motivation. Less light, less serotonin, flatter mood. Second, melatonin gets confused. Melatonin is your sleep hormone, normally released in the dark. When daytime stays dim and grey, your brain keeps producing it through the day — which is exactly why you feel drowsy and dull at 3pm even after a full night's sleep.
This is the same mechanism behind what's called Seasonal Affective Disorder in colder countries. In India it looks a little different — it's the monsoon, not the winter, that does it — but the biology is the same: less light, lower mood.
It's not just biology — it's your broken routine
The monsoon doesn't only change your brain chemistry. It quietly dismantles all the small things that were keeping you steady.
The morning walk you'd started? Skipped, because it's pouring. The plan to meet friends? Cancelled, because the roads are flooded and the commute is a nightmare. Stepping out for chai, sunlight on your face, moving your body — all the tiny daily anchors disappear. You end up indoors, scrolling, sitting still for hours.
We need rhythm. When the weather takes away your routine, your mood often follows it down.
Feeling flat or low even though nothing is "wrong"
Tired and drowsy through the day despite sleeping enough
No motivation to do things you'd normally enjoy
The Gurgaon-specific version of this
There's an extra layer for anyone living in Delhi NCR. The monsoon also means waterlogged roads, a two-hour commute becoming three, the metro packed and damp, and that familiar low-grade dread of "will I even make it home tonight."
So it isn't only the grey skies — it's grey skies plus the stress of a city that grinds to a halt the moment it rains. Your nervous system is dealing with both at once.
What actually helps
You can't change the weather, but you can protect your mood through it. None of these are dramatic — they're small, and they work because they target the exact things the monsoon takes away.
- Get light early. Sit by a window, step onto the balcony between showers, keep your brightest lights on in the morning. Even grey daylight is far stronger than indoor lighting.
- Protect your sleep clock. Wake and sleep at the same time even when the dim mornings tempt you to stay in bed. A steady rhythm steadies your mood.
- Move your body indoors. Ten minutes of stretching, climbing the stairs, a home workout — movement raises serotonin without needing the sky to cooperate.
- Don't cancel everyone. The rain makes isolating easy. A short video call or chai with one person does more for your mood than you'd expect.
- Watch the scroll. Long grey afternoons pull you into your phone, which leaves you feeling worse. Notice it, and swap even 20 minutes for something with your hands.
"Every monsoon I see the same thing — people walking in convinced something is deeply wrong with them, when actually their mood has simply followed the light down. Naming it as the season takes away the panic. Then we can work on the routine."
— Ruchi MakkarWhen it's more than the monsoon
A seasonal dip lifts on brighter days and doesn't stop you living your life. It's worth paying closer attention when the low mood lingers past two weeks, when you lose interest in things you usually enjoy, when your sleep or appetite shift noticeably, or when it starts bleeding into your work and your relationships.
If you find yourself feeling that nothing matters, or that the heaviness isn't shifting no matter what the sky is doing, that's not something to wait out alone.
Free low-mood self-assessment — takes 3 minutesIf the heaviness isn't lifting
Sometimes a low mood is the season. Sometimes the season just reveals something that was already there. If you're not sure which one it is, talking to someone helps. Ruchi offers online sessions across India in Hindi and English.
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