1-12-2026 4:04am

The Measure: Conquering The Doldrums

Lesley Misko Editor

“Bearly Hanging On” Acrylic by Jess O’Connor

by Phil Repko

Happy New Year! (Imagine the annoying squeal of those little New Years’ noisemakers.)

Yeah. Happy. So Happy. Right?

I mean, you and I and all may well be poised for the happiest year we have ever encountered. But the Christmas holidays are one tough hombre` where the execution of tradition and responsibility are concerned. I mean, it’s hard to be focused on happy when you’re bone-tired, right?

For those of us who live in Pennsylvania, or more likely the whole Delaware Valley, and maybe extended to the entire Northern cross-section of the country, the first six weeks of the year present an imposing challenge, the kind that can make even the hardiest optimist wither and dwindle. We most likely wake up in the dark. We work indoors to avoid the cold, damp, depressing weather. We watch the daylight hide in the corners of the evening long before it’s time to retire for the night. Cold, dark, damp, and relentless are the first six weeks of the year.

I believe the derivation of the word, “Doldrums,” can be traced to some ancient civilization as they struggled with the first three months of the calendar that hadn’t been invented yet. It’s not true, since the word was invented in the late 18th century to meld two concepts – a dolt or a dullard, with a tantrum. So, it’s safe to say that those of us in the throes of The Doldrums are acting with low intelligence and a childish absence of self-control.

Early in a teaching career, while also coaching football and basketball, I often brooded about the way I felt through the heart of the season and leading up through Valentine’s Day. My days were long and busy. I went to the gym between 5:45 and 6 am. three times per week. Then I taught school. Then I orchestrated a two-hour basketball practice. You would think that taking the burden of practices off my plate in mid-February would provoke a deep breath and a sense of relief.

Not for me. I was always a bit depressed, perhaps even more than I cared to admit. I was often tired, and uninspired. I’d hit a wall and never seen the wall; I merely felt the bruises. Compounding the sense of overwhelm(th) was usually a new cohort of students for the 2nd semester of the school year. 130 new names, new textbooks, new barriers to learning. Sometimes I was tired before I finished thinking about how I felt.

Then, long after acquiring any insight that might be helpful or palliative, I was reminded about SAD, or seasonal affective disorder. I almost certainly was a victim of this scourge, a general malaise brought about by a dearth of sunlight, and an omission of favorable time outside. I was feeling heavy because the world was heavy, and all the other factors that influenced my physical and psychological well-being were relentless in their intent to steal away my joy, my light, and my bliss.

The Doldrums are a place and a state of mind. They are also a nemesis, and a plague.

One should not confuse wandering into the Doldrums with being Down in the Dumps. The Dumps are merely a slippery one-half square mile that may turn you in a quick, dizzy circle until you find your way out of the maze. While it’s true that the Dumps may occupy you for a few days – and even as long as a few weeks - while you keep mindlessly weaving in and out of the aisles, sidewalks, or breezeways – the truth is that they are always geographically surmountable by comparison. The Doldrums present more of a challenge because they encompass half the world for 6-12 weeks, irrespective of the contrived bit of false hope staged in Puxnatawny in early February. (See “Groundhog Day” if Puxnatawny Phil does not ring your bell.)

What I’m saying is that The Doldrums are a far more imposing and powerful leviathan or bogeyman than mere moods or setbacks. Consequently, we all need to devise a plan for beating the symptoms with a broom or two.

I am advocating a series of three attack zones in vanquishing The Doldrums this year, and every year. These suggestions have three legs, and I am leaning hard into the number three with a reminder that you need to select only ONE OF THE THREE choices in each area. You may decide to embrace all the ideas if you want, but it is not necessary.

First, I recently found that The Gratitude Challenge was more helpful than I expected in tilting my head in a direction that allowed me to see the sun, even sometimes when it wasn’t shining yet. That is, a simple intellectual exercise CAN exert influence on mood, attitude, and the psychological weather conditions.

The Gratitude Challenge was a simple directive to find three reasons to be thankful for to start the day. You do not need to perseverate over these things, or even over the practice itself. BUT you do need to write the three things down. So, starting tomorrow morning, as the 2026 work year commences, I plan to write down three things like this:

I am thankful that my brothers and sisters gathered over the holidays.
I am glad that each days get longer from now until June.
I am happy that I gained only 5 lbs. during this holiday season.

If you don’t feel a need to answer in complete sentences, bullet lists are allowed. OR feel free to do one of the other two approaches.

You can go through your camera, phone, or photo album, and select a photo or three that brings you joy.
You can play three songs on your Pandora, Spotify, or turntable. These need not be classified in any way. The only criterion is that they improve your mood.

*I think these other two work best if you keep the pile of photos, or list the songs for backward reference through the whole Spring season.

Writing the items down is important, as each day you will develop an instinct to look back over the list. Past causes for joy will invariably beget new impulses. That is the point.

That practice will be one leg of the trivet, but I have plans for there to be a trivet, because three is a great number, and people – unless they are knights from the time of Monty Python’s The Holy Grail - tend to be able to work with groups of three.

The second way to undermine the monstrousness of The Doldrums is to do the physical element. I am personally going to try to meet this goal by continuing my visits to the gym. I lift some weights, and I will use an elliptical machine. BUT DON”T WORRY, I am expecting no such requirements on your end. Instead, I am going to challenge you to do three physical things, sometime in the first two hours of your day.

I know that physical limitations prevail for many people, so here is a list of the type of physical things I think can be especially helpful. Remember, you need to do ONLY ONE of these, but do them all if that floats your boat.

Stand up and sit down from a sturdy chair at least 10 times in the first few hours that you are up and about. It is best if you can do this a few times in a row, or with limited rest. It doesn’t matter if you use a walker, cane, or handrail to help with this. The act of rising and sitting is the goal – enough to tell your body it is still capable of exertion of some kind.
Another physical movement if to squat and hold the pose for 30 seconds – or more – at least 5 times in the first few hours of the day. Do not bend at the waist. Stay on you’re the balls of your feet, and find a position that allows your muscles and joints to stretch and get stable – and hopefully comfortable. It’s fine to use support as mentioned above. I have found that the sofa or loveseat is the right height to help with balance, especially in the earliest moments when it hurts a bit to get closer to the ground.
If these are beyond capacity for you, find a household item that weighs a few pounds. From a standing or sitting position, raise the item above your head and hold it there for thirty seconds or more. Do this five or more times during your earliest hours of the day. Again, it’s best if the movement is not overly challenging or uncomfortable.

For all of the above, physical restrictions are not to be ignored or stubbornly disregarded. The idea is to give you something that reminds your body that it is subservient to your mind and your will, to whatever extent you can still command it.

The third leg of the stool is intellectual. I think The Doldrums garner predominance when we absent-mindedly concede or submit to the vast forces and their quiet, but insistent, power. That is, we make them even stronger when we surrender without a fight. Engage your mind to start the day. It’s a way of priming the pump, or warming up the mental engine for the excitements yet to come.

Play Wordle, Connections, or one of the other e-challenges to be found on the internet. These games are a great way to start your brain, and to preside over your moods. Don’t fret if the puzzle defeats you sometimes. The game is the objective.
If you still get a hard copy newspaper and reject the electronic world, do the crossword puzzle, or the cryptogram, or the Sudoku puzzle. (Secret: you don’t have to complete them successfully. Dedicate ten to fifteen minutes of failure to start the day, or less time if you have the ability. The objective is not victory. The victory is the objective – activate your brain to remind it that it has strength and agility of its own, even if the body is being belligerent.
Read a book, or the Boyertown Expression, or one of the poems from Pieces of April. The point is to do something that might make you think or feel. As in all these directives, the scorecard is not about volume; it’s about engagement.

There you have it: my trivet. Please remember that the magic of a trivet is that it has balance of a sort even if the legs are not precisely equal. It does not matter that you do all of these things well, or with the same degree of vigor. The beauty of this approach is that your own preferences and capacities are the drivers. If the intellectual side, reading books, is your biggest strength, then emphasize learning or literature. If self-assessment and self-care are your best weapons against The Doldrums, by all means focus on the Affirmations that can superimpose themselves on your mood and your mind. Some of you will have the most success with the physical focus. Exercise, breathe, and move – if that’s what moves you.

You may not have adopted New Year’s Resolutions this year, but you still have time to attack the evil that lies in The Doldrums of the Northern Hemisphere on this Earth. Take some charge of your World. We own it for only a little while, so we might as well take care of as much as we can. I am bracing myself to conquer The Doldrums. Hope you join me.

* Phil Repko is a career educator in the PA public school system who has been writing for fun and no profit since he was a teenager. Phil lives with his wife Julie in Gilbertsville and is the father of three outstanding children, two of whom are also poets and writers. He vacillates between poetry and prose, as the spirit beckons, and has published his first book of poetry “Pieces of April” and is currently working sporadically on a novella, a memoir, and a second book of poetry.