Sometimes what we need is to protect ourselves. I don't think bottling it up is always the wrong answer. The problem comes when we've so successfully pushed the thoughts and feelings away that we've convinced ourselves that we've dealt with them.

[ Even as he says it, he wonders at his own hypocrisy. Discussing his feelings hasn't ever come easily to him; he finds it so much more rewarding to help others with theirs. But then, he's part of the problem, isn't he? Is it due to what he learned from his father, his grandparents, or has he simply made the same choices as them despite knowing better?

He nods at the milk bottle. ]

You could start with that.