Morita Therapy is an approach to psychology that originated in early 20th century Japan. Even though the approach comes from the East, it's teachings are as meaningful to us in the West as they are in Japan. One of the basic teachings of Morita is that of arugamama (), or acceptance. Morita teaches us that acceptance of the truth of our current situation is key to mental health, the next step being to work on what we can actively change and accept that which we cannot.
A recent research study looked at this idea of acceptance. The authors found that, "In order to protect the well-being of older individuals, adaptation involves both a sense of control and the active acceptance of what cannot be changed." In other words, older adults who accepted the reality of their situations (in terms of what could not be changed). Other studies found similarly that acceptance simply leads to being more happy. Click here to read more.