In this episode, I take a deep dive into I Don’t Want to Talk About It by Terrence Real, a landmark work that changed how we understand depression in men.
Male depression often doesn’t look like sadness. It shows up as anger, withdrawal, numbness, overwork, or a quiet collapse of intimacy. Drawing from Real’s insights and my own work as a psychotherapist, this episode explores how shame, emotional silence, and intergenerational legacies shape the inner lives of men—and why so many struggle without ever naming their pain as depression.
I explore:
Why male depression is so often hidden and misunderstood
How shame becomes the core emotional wound for many men
The legacy of emotionally absent or unreachable fathers
Depression as a relational injury rather than a personal failure
What effective psychotherapy with men actually requires
Why connection, dignity, and emotional safety matter more than “opening up”
This episode is for therapists, clinicians, and anyone interested in men’s mental health, masculinity, and the deeper emotional costs of silence. It’s also for men who’ve felt disconnected, irritable, or unseen—but never quite “depressed” in the way the word is usually defined.
If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t want to talk about it,” this conversation is an invitation to understand why—and what healing can look like when men are met with respect, compassion, and real relational safety.