Happiful – Issue 113 2026
Summary
Happiful Issue 113 (2026, £5.99) — Write Your Own Story — features a beginner's guide to micro-memoirs, the path to contentment with bestselling author Richard Templar, the nocebo effect explained, outdoor swimming's mental health benefits, and poetry as medicine. The cover quote from Carl Rogers ("The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change") sets the tone for this issue focused on self-acceptance and creative expression as therapeutic tools.
Content Guide
▸ A Free & Fluid Mind
p.10: The road to contentment — Discover tips from bestselling author Richard Templar on simple habits and subtle changes that lead to lasting satisfaction.
p.14: What is the nocebo effect? — How negative expectations impact our experience of pain and healing, and how to reframe anticipatory anxiety.
p.24: Returning to the water — Wild swimming creates ripples of joy; what makes open-water swimming so supportive for mental health.
p.54: Poetry as medicine — How a simple stanza can have therapeutic qualities, including guidance for writing your first therapeutic poem.
▸ Try This at Home
p.62: Your recovery routine — A checklist for soothing your mind when stress levels spike.
p.66: Bookmark this — How to get out of a reading slump with targeted book recommendations.
▸ Wellbeing
p.44: Past life regression — Can tapping into previous lives teach us about who we are today?
p.63: Keep it short — One micro-memoirist's take on the magic of this miniature medium.
p.67: The balancing act — Print-exclusive journaling pages for finding your even keel.
▸ Regulars
p.28: Anxiety on your mind — Leah Hunt opens up about how anxiety affects her daily life.
p.60: Ask the experts — Advice for living with acid reflux and how to soothe it naturally.
Editor's Take
Issue 113's strongest content is the micro-memoir feature (p.63) and the poetry-as-medicine piece (p.54) — both offer genuinely creative approaches to mental health that most wellbeing magazines overlook in favour of generic coping-strategy lists. Richard Templar's contentment interview lands some useful lines but reads as an author-promotion piece. The weakest section is the past-life regression feature (p.44), which presents an unproven modality without adequate sceptical counterbalance. This issue suits readers interested in creative writing as therapy, wild swimming and non-traditional mental health practices.
Strengths
• Micro-memoir guide offers a specific, actionable creative-writing therapeutic practice
• Poetry-as-medicine feature treats literature as a genuine intervention rather than metaphor
• Outdoor swimming article includes practical cold-water entry guidance
Weaknesses
• Past-life regression feature lacks critical-sceptical balance
• Richard Templar interview reads as book-promotion rather than independent journalism
Verdict: Recommended — Strong on creative and nature-based mental health interventions, though the paranormal-content balance will not suit every reader.
