What it is
Covert depression is Terrence Real’s term for depression in men that doesn’t look like depression. Instead of visible sadness, it comes out as rage, workaholism, numbing, emotional distance and relationships that keep failing.
His argument is that many men were never taught how to reach their inner lives, so the pain finds other exits.
How it shows up for me
This one hit close. For years I would have said I wasn’t depressed, I was just busy and irritable. Reading Real made me ask what the busyness was protecting me from.