Two eminent psychiatrists were at a convention. As they conversed, one asked,
"Doctor, was your most difficult case?"
The other replied, "I had a patient who lived in a pure fantasy world. He believed that an uncle in South America was going to die and leave him a vast fortune. All day long he waited for a letter to arrive from an attorney. He never went out, he never did anything, he merely sat around and waited for this fantasy letter from this fantasy uncle. I worked with this man eight years."
"What was the result?"
"It was an eight year struggle. Every day for eight years, but I finally cured him."
"Was the cure complete?"
"Undeniably so. He was perfectly normal for some time ... and then that stupid letter arrived ..."