U-M research shows chronically ill may be happier if they give up hope

U-M research shows chronically ill may be happier if they give up hope  
Study shows that colostomy patients who felt their condition was irreversible reported better quality of life than those with faith that they would be cured  
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uomh-urs103009.php 
 
"Holding on to hope may not make patients happier as they deal with chronic illness or diseases, according to a new study by University of Michigan Health System researchers. "Hope is an important part of happiness," said Peter A. Ubel, M.D., director of the U-M Center for Behavioral and Decision Sciences in Medicine and one of the authors of the happily hopeless study, "but there's a dark side of hope. Sometimes, if hope makes people put off getting on with their life, it can get in the way of happiness."   The results showed that people do not adapt well to situations if they are believed to be short-term."