Discover the story of Happiful magazine, and how you can be part of the next steps

In 2017, with a core team of just three people, Happiful magazine launched with one key goal in mind: to end mental health stigma. We wanted to do something different, we wanted to challenge ideas about what a lifestyle magazine could and should talk about. And in the years since our first issue went to print, we’ve worked tirelessly to do just that.

In ways that we’d only dreamed of, Happiful magazine flourished – all with the support of our passionate, reflective, conscientious readers, who help us to put mental health in the spotlight, who guide the work that we do, and who walk with us on this journey to stand up to stigma.

As demand for our magazine grew, so did our team – each individual deeply dedicated to the work that we do, bringing with them a wealth of knowledge, endless creativity, and a sincere sense of responsibility for what we do.

From those first few issues in 2017, our print magazine has grown and transformed, too, increasing in pages and diving deeper into the topics that we cover – hosting some of the most important voices around today. And our digital edition is still completely free to read, so that anyone who needs it is able to access practical, reassuring, and vital mental health content.

Fiercely and proudly independent, our commitment has always been to you, our reader, and we have always had our eyes fixed firmly on the future, with Happiful now available across multiple mediums, so that people can find the mental health support they need in whatever form suits them most.

The Happiful timeline

  • April 2017 – Happiful magazine launches and is available to order online, and to read digitally
  • October 2017 – The magazine is available to buy in UK supermarkets
  • 2018 – More than one million people connected with professional support via the Happiful directories
  • January 2019 – Our award-winning podcast ‘I am. I have’ launches for its first series
  • March 2019 – We host our first live podcast festival: Podfest for Mental Health
  • May 2019 – The Happiful app is available to download from app stores
  • June 2020 – The first of a series of free Happiful webinars is aired
  • November 2020 – The Happiful relaunch...

And our work hasn’t gone unrecognised. In 2019 we were named ‘Consumer Magazine of the Year’ at the PPA Independent Publisher Awards, in 2020 our unwavering editor Rebecca Thair was recognised as one of the UK’s brightest talents in the PPA 30 Under 30 list, and Happiful became a registered B-Corp – a growing group of companies that meet rigorous social and environmental standards, and that are reinventing business by pursuing purpose as well as profit.

We take this responsibility very seriously. We want to break down barriers to mental health support, which is why our digital magazine has always been completely free to subscribe to. But we haven’t stopped there. Via our free app, our digital magazine is optimised for text-readers, so that those with visual impairments are able to enjoy Happiful without restrictions, and the font used throughout the app is dyslexia-friendly. Beyond that, in 2018 we announced our Pride Pledge – our commitment to upholding the highest editorial standards when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation in our magazine, and we are immensely proud to feature social trailblazers, from all backgrounds, on our pages.

It’s only been three years, but already we have a rich history to look back on. And we’re only just getting started.

The 2020 Relaunch

All this brings us up to where we are today. At the end of one of the most difficult years on record, we’re looking to the future. Though our focus and values remain the same, Happiful is a different magazine to what it was in 2017.

Happiful December 2020

Happiful December 2020

Happiful is bigger and better than it has ever been before. Now with 100 pages dedicated to mental health, we’re packing each issue full of practical advice, inspiring stories, expert insight, and agenda-setting features.

Starting with our December 2020 issue, the relaunch of Happiful is the next step in our story, and we can’t wait for you to take it with us.

By buying a print magazine, you’re supporting our commitment to offer the digital magazine, and our app, for free – so that anyone who needs it, has access.

We’re also FSC certified, and our tree pledge means that for every tree used to make our magazine, we ensure that two are planted in its place. And to top it all off, Happiful is lovingly filled with original artwork by our enormously talented in-house artists – and our pages have never looked better.

If you’ve been with us a while now, you’ll know that we’re a soppy lot who don’t hold back when it comes to expressing how we really feel. As 2020 comes to a close, we’re feeling a great sense of pride in what we’ve created, with the help of each and every one of our readers. Together, we will continue to break down mental health stigma and to challenge ourselves to keep on working through whatever comes our way, so that, together, we will create a happier, healthier world.

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Our December issue is available 19 November

  • Find Happiful magazine online and in stores.
  • Head to our online store, where all orders now come with FREE postage and - packaging, and you can sign up to a print subscription to suit you.
  • Remember, you can also subscribe to our digital edition for free.
  • Keep up to date with everything Happiful on our free app.