Today we’re talking to Paul Gehring — author of Scars You Can’t See — about the kind of pain men carry quietly. Paul is the guy everyone calls “the rock.” Husband. Father of four. Caregiver to a wife who has endured multiple open-heart surgeries and a life-altering stroke.

From the outside, he looks steady. Inside? Anxiety. Panic attacks. Depression. Suicidal thoughts. Burnout. Shame. Self-medication. And the constant pressure to hold it all together. In this conversation, we talk about:

• Planning your wife’s funeral the night before surgery

• Sitting in a hospital wondering if she will wake up

• Being the “strong one” while quietly cracking

• Why men don’t ask for help

• The lie that vulnerability is weakness

• What support actually looks like

• Why depression tells you you’re alone (and why that’s not true)

• And how trauma can either fracture a family — or forge it

Paul shares the moment he nearly ended his life… and the therapy that saved it.

We talk about guilt, resentment, isolation, alcohol, acceptance, and the pressure men feel to be the rock — even when they feel more like a cotton ball underwater.

This episode is honest. Raw. Real. If you’ve ever thought:

• “I should be able to handle this.”
• “I don’t want to burden anyone.”
• “Nobody understands what I’m carrying.”
• “Maybe it would be easier if I just wasn’t here.”

Listen to this one. You are not alone. And the things we don’t talk about own us.

Paul’s book: Scars You Can’t See: Chaos Survived, Fear Faced, and The Will To Fight Found is available on Amazon.

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