WellBeing – Issue 223 2026

Summary

WellBeing Issue 223, "The Winter Read Edition," arrives with Anita Heiss on country, culture and coming home as the cover interview. The winter issue asks readers to soften self-judgement, explore hedonic adaptation, and sit with grief and anxiety through others' stories. The cover line "Come home to yourself" sets the tone for a reflective, slower-paced edition.

The cover feature spotlights Anita Heiss discussing her connection to country and what "coming home" means after years of public life. Hedonic adaptation the happiness baseline is examined through the lens of why humans return to a set point of contentment regardless of life changes. Motherhood and intrusive thoughts are addressed with compassion, and two reader essays one on grief in a beautiful life, one on surviving severe anxiety anchor the "In Their Words" section. The editor's letter from Kate Holland frames the issue around winter as a season for turning inward.

Regular columns include Moments of Wonder (featuring the Cochno Stone and Yonaguni Monument), plus winter skincare and travel features. The issue is lighter on structured fitness and nutrition content than warmer-month editions, consistent with its winter theme.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover Story

p.(n/a) · Anita Heiss On Country, Culture And Coming Home
Heiss reflects on her Indigenous heritage, her writing career, and the practices that ground her when public life becomes overwhelming. She describes the role of storytelling in preserving culture. Readers start a weekly "country connection" practice: a walk in nature without headphones.

▸ Mind & Spirit

p.(n/a) · Hedonic Adaptation The Happiness Baseline
Explains the psychological theory that humans revert to a stable happiness level regardless of major positive or negative events. Strategies for resetting that baseline through gratitude, novelty, and meaningful social connection are presented. Readers identify one area where they chase external wins and redirect focus to internal satisfaction.

p.(n/a) · Softening Self-Judgement
A therapist-led guide to recognising the inner critic and separating self-worth from productivity. Cognitive reframing exercises replace shame with self-compassion. The weekly practice: note three self-critical thoughts and rewrite each as a neutral observation.

▸ In Their Words

p.(n/a) · Grief In A Beautiful Life
A personal essay on holding grief and joy simultaneously after losing a loved one. The writer shares specific rituals that help her move through anniversaries and triggers. Readers create one annual grief ritual rather than suppressing the date.

p.(n/a) · Surviving Severe Anxiety
A raw first-person account of living with generalised anxiety disorder and the combination of therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes that created stability. The writer names the single question she asks herself before deciding whether to cancel plans. The decision framework: "Will this restore or drain me?"

▸ Regulars

p.(n/a) · Moments Of Wonder The Cochno Stone And Yonaguni Monument
Two pages on archaeological mysteries a 5,000-year-old carved stone in Scotland and a submerged rock formation off Japan. Each entry blends geological fact with the human impulse to find meaning in ancient marks.

p.(n/a) · Winter Skin Solved
MV Skin Therapy's Daily Soother Booster is featured as a winter skincare solution. The brief prioritises moisture barrier repair over active ingredients during cold months.

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Editor's Take

Issue 223 commits to its winter theme and largely succeeds at slowing the reader down. The Anita Heiss interview is warm but lacks the training-and-nutrition specificity that WellBeing readers might expect from a cover feature. The hedonic adaptation piece is the intellectual standout and deserved more space. The strength is the "In Their Words" essays grief and anxiety told without a formulaic recovery arc. The weakness: the issue is notably thin on actionable health content. No structured fitness, meal plans, or supplement guides appear, which makes this feel more like a literary journal than a health magazine in places. This issue suits readers who want a mental-health deep read rather than a workout plan.

Strengths
• Hedonic adaptation piece offers genuinely useful happiness reset tools
• "In Their Words" essays on grief and anxiety avoid recovery cliches
• Winter theme executed consistently across editorial tone and content selection

Weaknesses
• Anita Heiss interview lacks actionable health detail typical of WellBeing covers
• No structured fitness or nutrition content for colder-month readers

Verdict: Selective read Best for readers seeking mental-health depth; skip if you want winter workout or nutrition guidance.