How to Manage Seasonal Depression as a Florida Mom

Florida might be the Sunshine State, but during the fall and winter months, when we fall back and our evenings move into the afternoon, it’s not uncommon to notice changes in our moods, something commonly called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). 

Spending several months with 12+ hours of sunshine, vibrant greens in our grass and trees, flowers blooming, and red cardinals and blue jays swooping around will always make you feel a little happier. 

Seasons in Florida

Florida doesn’t get seasons for the most part. Our tree branches and leaves go from green to brown without a dramatic palette of fall colors like states up North. Trees lose their leaves around Halloween — if they didn’t already during hurricane season, which, by the way, ends abruptly deep into our “fall.”

I wouldn’t even say it’s the cold or gloomy days; it might be the uncertainty of our seasons that causes my mood to shift often during the fall and winter months. Will we start with a 50-degree day and move well past comfort and into the 80s? Will we have a cold snap for a night or two and have to throw blankets over our hibiscus and plumeria or risk them dying? Are we moving the thermostat hourly between cool and heat settings?

So, can you have seasonal depression in Florida?

Just because our days aren’t as gloomy as some cities, our skies aren’t gray, and we aren’t shoveling snow doesn’t mean our moods are supposed to stay the same as they were in summer.

Prioritize some time outdoors, possibly on your lunch break, since the weather isn’t as hot and the UV rays are not as strong, to get some of nature’s vitamin D (be sure to also speak with your medical provider to ask about vitamin D in your diet or through supplementation, as most Americans are deficient in that). If you’re working from home, move away from your inner air-conditioned space (great for summer) and take some calls near a window for part of the day. Be your own plant!

Keep your body moving! In the summer it’s easy with trips to the water park, beach, barbeques, and summer festivals to get our steps in, but when we are tasked with adding layers and coats, the excuses for omitting exercise get easier. Set a meeting for yourself in the morning to move for 30-45 minutes. Try a new YouTube workout channel, call a friend and create an accountability buddy, or join that new gym down the street or the fun Pilates place everyonehas been talking about.

Find something you enjoy doing so it doesn’t feel like a chore. Moving your body will help to warm you up, increase blood flow, and get adrenaline moving to improve your mood. It doesn’t have to be a fancy workout; simple squats, bicep curls, balance, or yoga flow are all amazing ways to move. 

Talk to someone. Call your relatives up north and admit that yes, we are turning on the heat because the outside temperature went down to 74 degrees! Okay, maybe don’t rub it in anyone’s face that we aren’t buried in snow. But DO call your mental health counselor or speak with a psychotherapist to learn more strategies to improve your mood disorders. It’s always okay to seek out and get the help you need and deserve at any stage of your life and during any particular situation you’re unsure how to handle mentally, socially, and emotionally. 

A SAD Floridian is a thing. Our bodies and minds still need to cope with the time between hurricane season and the great spring pollening. Taking stock of how and what YOU feel is important at all seasons — both chronologically and personally. 

First published 8/25/25, updated 11/28/25 by an Orlando Mom Editor.