Foundations Of Quicksand

So for the last few years of depression. Life is, quite, simply Hell! The only things that have kept me going have been drugs and my sessions with the Tuesday Evening Group of whom I will tell you about shortly. I have had Anger Therapy, Assertion Therapy, Clinical Psychology sessions and a lot of cigarettes and booze.
Anger Therapy.
This was a waste of time because the guy who was supposed to be helping me was in a worse state than I was. We called it a day after four sessions. He did explain the theory behind the treatment and it was graphically correct. Imagine the anger as a liquid which occasionally overflowed the container that it was kept in. The theory was to make the container bigger so that it wouldn't overflow as easily.
Assertion Therapy.
I was never comfortable with the methodology here. Shouting no at someone a few feet away was rather an uncomfortable action for me. I did last out for eight sessions but I felt that it was unsettling me so I gave up.
Clinical Psychology.
This was to prove quite interesting and I managed to go the distance on this one. Unfortunately the distance was two sessions of the Psychologist getting to know me and then a further four sessions of analysis. I did learn one very useful technique though and it still proves effective today - but only to a small degree. The Psychologist informed me that it appeared as if I was at odds with myself. I had two sided to my personality that were in conflict and he got me to address the problem in a way that graphically proved his point.
One-to-one Counselling.
This worked very well and helped me to get an insight to my own dark side. The key was self analysis and, with the aid of Dee, I soon got an insight into my own mind. Her job was to help me bring about a situation where I could delve into my subconscious to try to find out what was causing the depression, anger and doubt. There came a time though where one-to-one counselling was becoming a little repetitive. Although I did get a brief glimpse of the monkeys that were clinging to my back I could not find a way to shake them off. Dee suggested that a group of like-minded individuals might help to address the problems that the monkeys brought so we terminated the individual sessions in favour of the group.
Group Therapy.
Once again this method of self-analysis proved (and is still proving) useful. A small group of 4 or 5 people, the same psychological problems but with different causes in a controlled situation and a confidentiality pact was a safe environment for uncovering the doubts and anxieties. The fact that other people were present and willing to offer their views and analysis also proved beneficial but only to a degree. The group sessions have tended to act as a release for the pent-up emotions gathered in the periods between. They have not stopped the anxiety, the build up of anger, the feeling of futility or the plunges into despair.