Does increasing level of disability lead to depression?

Increasing levels of disability do not have to equal depression. A study once compared the "happiness set point" of people who were paralyzed in accidents. Trained professionals observed that within eighteen months of their life traumas, those paralyzed had returned to their previous levels of happiness. Another study looked at the happiness levels of new lottery winners. Within eighteen months of their momentary life "highs," the lottery winners settled back into their original happiness set points as well. If they were happy before, they were happy after. If they were miser able before, they weren't any different after. The key to it all: a long-range coping strategy.