Low mood is not a character flaw or a lack of effort, and it is not something to be talked out of. It is a real condition with physical dimensions — sleep, nutrition, inflammation, thyroid function, hormonal transitions and daily rhythm all shape how you feel, and all of them are modifiable.
In practice, mood rarely arrives alone. It travels with thyroid disorders, with PCOS, with the months after childbirth, with perimenopause. Those connections are often missed, because the hormonal condition is treated in one place and the low mood in another, with neither clinician seeing the whole picture.
That gap is where this work sits. Naturopathic care here is adjunctive: it runs alongside treatment from a psychiatrist, psychologist or physician — never instead of it, and never as a reason to stop medication.
Signs you may recognise
- Persistent low mood, or a flatness that does not lift
- Loss of interest in things that used to matter
- Exhaustion that sleep does not resolve
- Disturbed sleep — difficulty falling asleep, or waking too early
- Appetite changes, in either direction
- Difficulty concentrating, or a sense of mental fog
- Low mood that began or worsened after childbirth, or alongside a thyroid or hormonal diagnosis
Recognising several of these does not confirm a diagnosis. It is a reason to have it looked at properly.
What we look at underneath
Thyroid function
Hypothyroidism produces symptoms nearly indistinguishable from depression — fatigue, low mood, mental fog, weight change. It is worth confirming thyroid status is adequately treated before concluding the mood is the primary problem.
The perinatal window
Pregnancy and the year after childbirth carry genuine biological risk for mood change — sleep disruption, iron and B12 depletion, thyroid shifts, and a sharp hormonal transition. This is not a failure of coping.
Nutritional status
Iron, vitamin D, B12, folate and omega-3 all affect mood regulation, and deficiency is common in Indian women. These are measurable, and correctable.
Sleep and circadian rhythm
Disturbed sleep is both a symptom of low mood and a driver of it. Breaking that loop is often the single highest-yield change available.
Physical activity
The evidence here is strong. A 2026 expert consensus from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine concluded that physical activity can serve as a primary therapy in mild depression, and as adjunctive support alongside psychotherapy and medication more broadly.
How Dr. Priyanka approaches it
Confirming the physical ground
Reviewing thyroid function, iron, vitamin D and B12 before assuming the picture is purely psychological. A treatable deficiency mistaken for a mood disorder costs people years.
Sleep first
Usually the most tractable lever, and improvement there tends to lift everything else. We work on timing, light exposure and wind-down routine before anything more demanding.
Movement, built to be sustainable
Matched to what you can actually manage on a low-energy day rather than an idealised routine. Something small and repeatable beats a plan that collapses in a week.
Nutrition for mood regulation
Correcting deficiencies that have been measured, rather than supplementing speculatively. Blood work guides this, not guesswork.
Yoga and breathing practice
Chosen for nervous-system regulation — practices that settle an overactive stress response rather than demanding physical intensity.
Alongside your mental health care
We coordinate with your psychiatrist or therapist and never substitute for them. Antidepressants are not something to adjust or stop on your own, and nothing in this plan asks you to.
What your plan may include
- Review of thyroid function, iron, vitamin D, B12 and folate status
- Sleep assessment, with a practical routine built around your actual schedule
- A movement plan matched to your current energy, not an ideal week
- Nutrition targeted at measured deficiencies affecting mood regulation
- Yoga and breathing practice for nervous-system regulation
- Clear guidance on when to seek or continue psychiatric and psychological care
Common questions
Can naturopathy replace my antidepressant?
No. That is a decision for the physician who prescribed it, and stopping without supervision can be genuinely dangerous — withdrawal effects and relapse are both real risks. This care runs alongside your medication. If your symptoms improve, your doctor may wish to review the dose, and that decision remains entirely theirs.
I was told my thyroid is fine but I still feel low.
This is common and worth taking seriously. TSH alone is a limited view, and iron, vitamin D and B12 all affect mood independently of thyroid function. It is worth looking wider — while continuing your mental health care, not instead of it.
Is this the same as postnatal depression care?
It overlaps, because the physical contributors in the year after childbirth are substantial — disrupted sleep, iron and B12 depletion, thyroid shifts. But postnatal depression needs assessment by a qualified mental health professional, and this work supports that rather than standing in for it. If you are struggling after a birth, please speak to your doctor as well.
I don't have the energy to exercise. Isn't that the point?
It is, and being told to exercise when you can barely get through the day is not helpful. So we start far smaller than most plans do — a few minutes of daylight and a short walk, at a time of day that suits you. The aim is something you can repeat on a bad day, because consistency is what shifts mood, not intensity.
Will you ask me to stop seeing my therapist?
Never. If anything, we will encourage you to continue. Where you are not currently under any mental health care and your symptoms warrant it, we will say so plainly and help you find it.
This page is general information, not medical advice for your situation. It does not replace diagnosis or treatment by a qualified medical practitioner, and nothing here should lead you to stop or change prescribed medication. Please read our medical disclaimer.