I’ve been reading some of the articles on here about anger and depression in men and it honestly hit me like a truck. For years I thought I was just an angry person — road rage, snapping at my kids, getting irritated at everything.
Turns out that was depression the whole time. My therapist helped me see that anger was the only “acceptable” emotion I knew how to express. Everything else — sadness, fear, loneliness — came out as anger.
Anyone else have this experience? How did you start recognizing it?
Same exact thing here man. I was punching walls and my wife was about to leave. Started therapy 6 months ago and realized I hadnt actually cried since I was like 12. Thats not normal.
This resonates hard. The article about masked depression really opened my eyes. I always thought depression meant you couldn’t get out of bed. Nobody told me it could look like constant irritability and picking fights.
my dad was the same way. angry all the time. looking back he was clearly depressed but back then nobody talked about mens mental health. at least we’re having these conversations now
I’m still in the early stages of figuring this out. Started journaling like one of the articles suggested and its weird how much sadness comes out when I write instead of just reacting. Still working on it but its helping.
Dad of three here. The anger was destroying my relationship with my kids. They were scared of me and that was my wake up call. Therapy + the resources on this site have been a lifeline. Dont wait as long as I did guys.