ABSTRACT
Masculine depression has numerous consequences for men’s phy sical health, mental health, working life, and relationships. The focus of this chapter is the impact of masculine depression on the man’s primary intimate relationship with his wife, girlfriend, or partner. It is in this relationship that men often play out the psychological dramas that are related to issues that we described in previous chaptersconflicts created in his family of origin and reactions to masculine social pressures. For a significant group of men, these issues create strongly mixed feelings about primary relationships-a basic and seeming unresolvable dilemma. In this chapter, we describe the emo tional discomfort (often accompanied by extreme behaviors) associat ed with either being too intimate or too detached from one’s partner. Fully understanding the consequences of masculine depression in inti mate relationships sets the stage for the solutions that we will propose in the second half of this book.
