Don’t bother cheering up. You’re better off that way.

No, really. Despair… sweet, sweet despair… sometimes, the Daily Telegraph says, it’s just stupid to be hopeful. And, the BBC adds, every so often, gloom is as good as it gets.

Telegraph:
In total 41 people were told their colostomy was reversible and they could undergo a second operation to reconnect their bowels after several months and get rid of their colostomy bag.

Another 30 individuals were told that the colostomy was permanent.

The study, published in the latest issue of Health Psychology, found the second group, the one without hope, reported being happier over the next six months than those with reversible colostomies.

“We think they were happier because they got on with their lives,” researcher Peter Ubel said.

BBC: Professor Forgas said: “Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, co-operation and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world.”

The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a “mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style”.

If it weren’t that these studies took months or years to complete, I’d suspect the whole bunch of them had given in to Seasonal Affective Disorder. Grim bastards.

*sigh*