Since childhood, I’ve harbored an irrational fear of something lurking under my bed at night. No matter how many times I checked, how many nights passed without incident, or how much my parents reassured me, the thought of a mysterious presence hiding in the darkness beneath my mattress sent chills down my spine. It was… Since childhood, I’ve harbored an irrational fear of something lurking under my bed at night. No matter how many times I checked, how many nights passed without incident, or how much my parents reassured me, the thought of a mysterious presence hiding in the darkness beneath my mattress sent chills down my spine. It was a fear I couldn’t shake, so I decided to seek professional help.
Determined to confront my fears, I scheduled an appointment with a psychiatrist. In his cozy office, I shared how I would lie awake at night, unable to sleep due to the terrifying thought of something hiding just inches away. The psychiatrist listened attentively, nodding occasionally, and offered a reassuring smile.
“Well,” he said, “you’ve come to the right place. Just put yourself in my hands for one year. Come see me three times a week, and together, we’ll work through these fears. By the end, you’ll be sleeping soundly.”
That sounded promising, and for the first time in a while, I felt hopeful. However, I had one important question: “How much do you charge per session?”
“$80 per visit,” he replied matter-of-factly.
I quickly calculated the costs. Three sessions a week at $80 each would add up to a staggering amount over a year. I hesitated and finally said, “I’ll have to think about it. I’ll sleep on it, and if I decide to go through with it, I’ll be back.”
He nodded knowingly, as if he had heard that before, and we parted ways.
Six months later, I unexpectedly ran into the psychiatrist on the street. He recognized me and asked, “Hey, I never saw you back at my office. Did you find another way to deal with your fear?”
I grinned. “Yep, and it only cost me ten bucks!”
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Ten bucks? How did you manage that?”
“Well,” I said, trying to hold back my laughter, “a bartender gave me the best advice I’ve ever received.”
“A bartender?” he repeated, skepticism evident. “What did this so-called expert tell you?”
Still grinning, I replied, “He told me to cut the legs off my bed. Now there’s no space for anything to hide under there!”
The psychiatrist stared at me, momentarily speechless. I could tell he wasn’t as amused as I was, but I found it hilarious. Not only had I conquered my childhood fear in the simplest way possible, but I also saved a fortune! In fact, I saved so much that I bought myself a brand-new SUV. Talk about a win-win!
This story illustrates that sometimes the best solutions to our problems aren’t the most expensive or complicated. We often overanalyze our fears, seeking deep psychological explanations, when the fix can be as simple as removing the source of our anxiety.
It also highlights the power of humor in facing life’s challenges. Fear often stems from our imagination running wild, creating scenarios worse than reality. While therapy is valuable for many issues, a fresh perspective—perhaps even a humorous one—can be just as effective.
And let’s not overlook the practicality of the bartender’s advice. How often do we let small worries consume us when a simple solution is right in front of us? Instead of spending hundreds of dollars analyzing my fear, I eliminated the problem at its root. No space under the bed? No monster. End of story.
Of course, not every fear can be resolved so easily. Some anxieties run deep and require real effort to overcome. But this anecdote serves as a lighthearted reminder that sometimes we just need to step back and ask ourselves if there’s an easier way to deal with our worries.
So, the next time you find yourself lying awake at night, haunted by a fear that might not even be real, take a moment to ask yourself—what would the bartender do? Maybe the answer is simpler than you think.
