Happiful – Issue 111 2026

Summary

Happiful Issue 111 (2026, £5.99) — Held, Heard & Honoured — explores the folk revival connecting us with what matters, the art of delayed gratification, 20 unusual ways to break thought spirals, the Sunday scaries, the spotlight effect and how folk music and storytelling are making a cultural comeback. The Marcus Aurelius quote ("Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.") opens the issue.

Content Guide

▸ Think Differently
p.14: The folk revival — Fall back in love with nature's healing sounds and rhythm as traditional music, storytelling and seasonal living return to mainstream culture.
p.25: Laugh it off — Can a good giggle make a difference to your mental health? The science of therapeutic humour.
p.31: Cartoons for good — Getta Correll on how anxiety inspires her creative process as an illustrator.
p.35: Sleepless nights — Manage your emotions when you are not getting the rest you need.

▸ Positive Pointers
p.38: Attention, please! — Find focus when your mind wanders using attention-training techniques.
p.52: Budget bops — Get affordable access to live music for mental health.
p.62: The Sunday scaries — Get ahead of Sunday night anxiety and start your week positively. Create a Sunday evening wind-down ritual: screen-off at 8pm, prepare Monday's outfit and set three intentions for the week ahead.

▸ Try This at Home
p.18: Take a seat — Try the empty-chair technique for processing unresolved feelings.
p.54: Stop the spiral — 20 specific techniques to interrupt thought loops and rumination.

▸ Wellbeing
p.12: Bright spot — Feeling overexposed? It could be the spotlight effect: the tendency to overestimate how much others notice us.
p.40: Biding your time — Is delayed gratification really worth the wait? Research shows the ability to delay reward predicts better life outcomes across multiple domains.
p.66: Hair loss myths — Five things you might not know about hair loss causes and treatments.

▸ Food & Health
p.22: Global fusion — A feel-good recipe designed to tantalise your tastebuds.
p.44: Less is more core — The underconsumption trend designed to keep things minimal.
p.63: Roots and fruits — The plant-forward way of eating.

Editor's Take

Issue 111 delivers its strongest material in the spiral-stopping techniques (p.54) — 20 specific, numbered interventions that readers can apply immediately without specialist training or equipment. The folk revival feature (p.14) is well-researched but over-reaches in claiming seasonal living as a mental health intervention without clinical evidence. The weakest element is the delayed gratification feature (p.40), which recapitulates the Marshmallow Test findings without adding new insight or updating readers on the replication crisis affecting those classic studies. This issue suits readers struggling with rumination and those curious about cultural trends like the folk revival as mental health support.

Strengths
• 20 spiral-stopping techniques are specific, numbered and immediately actionable
• Spotlight effect feature explains a common cognitive distortion with research backing
• Folk revival article connects cultural trends to wellbeing in a non-preachy way

Weaknesses
• Delayed gratification feature does not address replication issues with classic studies
• Global fusion recipe lacks specific mental health benefit claims

Verdict: Recommended — Strongest for the rumination-intervention content, though the delayed gratification piece misses an opportunity for scientific nuance.