Happiful – Issue 112 2026
Summary
Happiful Issue 112 (2026, £5.99) — Quietly Revolutionary — explores how making things with our hands became a pleasurable protest against productivity culture, with features on the hedonic treadmill, meaningful making, the science of coincidences, climate cafés for eco-anxiety, and a Pilates workout that requires no equipment beyond a wall. The Van Gogh quote "I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it" opens the issue.
Content Guide
▸ The Good Life
p.12: Pursuit of pleasure — Is it time to hop off the hedonic treadmill to find real happiness? Explores how the pursuit of pleasure often undermines the contentment it seeks.
p.14: Meaningful making — The hands-on hobbies that actively challenge productivity culture, from knitting to pottery to woodworking.
▸ Book Extracts
p.25: Under the weather — How heat influences mood, memory and mental health, drawn from current popular-science publishing.
p.30: The rest revolution — Why taking time to recharge should be a non-negotiable, not a luxury.
p.35: More than coincidence — What psychology says about signs, synchronicity and the science behind meaningful coincidences.
▸ Positive Pointers
p.18: Loving an HSP — Relationship advice when your other half is a highly sensitive person.
p.38: Comfort for kids — Finding and adapting clothing that fits children's sensory needs.
p.52: Banish self-blame — Take a stand and make a change in self-critical thought patterns.
▸ Wellbeing
p.40: Shake things up — What vibration plates can and cannot do for our health, with evidence-based analysis.
p.57: Creating in conflict — How Lebanese artist Rafik El Hariri responds to war through his work.
p.63: More than a mantra — The hidden impact of motivational one-liners on actual behaviour change.
▸ Food & Health
p.22: Home-brewed kombucha — Skip the supermarket sodas and give your gut some good bacteria.
p.44: Climate cafes — A welcoming space for eco-anxiety and climate grief.
p.48: Funghi as fuel — Can cordyceps coffee really boost focus and wellbeing?
Editor's Take
Issue 112's "Meaningful making" feature is the standout — it identifies a genuine cultural shift (the post-pandemic rise in hands-on hobbies) and explains why knitting or woodworking feels revolutionary in a productivity-obsessed culture. The coincidence-science piece (p.35) is the second-strongest article, offering genuinely surprising psychology research. The weakness is the book-extract section: three consecutive extract-based articles (p.25, p.30, p.35) make the issue feel like a preview-issue rather than original journalism. This issue appeals to readers feeling burned out by digital culture who want permission to slow down and make things with their hands.
Strengths
• Meaningful-making feature identifies a genuine cultural-psychological shift with specific examples
• Coincidence science draws on published psychology research rather than anecdote
• Vibration plate feature evaluates evidence honestly rather than promoting the trend
Weaknesses
• Three consecutive book extracts reduce the issue's original-content ratio
• Kombucha recipe assumes readers already own fermentation equipment
Verdict: Recommended — The meaningful-making thesis and coincidence psychology make this issue distinctive, though the book-extract density feels thin for the cover price.
