Editorial note: While many articles on Dr Sarah’s blog are authored by Sarah, several contributions come from members of the GYUP community. Any editorial revisions are undertaken by Philip, with occasional assistance from AI tools.
Classes in Gorleston... learn how to find calm anytime, anywhere.
Perhaps you’ve heard about meditation or mindfulness and wondered whether it’s something you could try to reduce stress and aid relaxation. Research, anecdotal evidence and scientific data have proved an abundance of health and wellbeing benefits that can be experienced from meditating. These benefits range from physiological to psychological and are deemed significant enough that mindfulness (one of many types of meditation tools) is now recognised and recommended by the NHS.
When we reach a relaxed but focused state in meditation, we are essentially giving our bodies and minds a break; a chance to recover and rebalance. This can lower blood pressure and heart rate. We can attribute this to a range of the core outcomes of meditation working together, like reducing stress, breathing more effectively, and being able to relax more readily. The lowering of these vital indicators can result in further benefits, for example lowering blood pressure can prevent serious cardiovascular conditions like heart attacks and lowering heart rate can improve the strength of the heart muscle and increase physical endurance.
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- Written by: Emma Cruickshank
Big thanks to Leighton for representing GYUP at the Community Psychology Festival event, although as he says it “definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone, but I met some great people and left feeling really inspired.”
We love hearing that kind of energy — stepping up, meeting new faces, and coming away buzzing with ideas. For Leighton, those ideas are already starting to take shape.
“I’ve got a few seeds of an idea around mindset, movement and community wellbeing I’d love to grow here in GY. Curious to see who else might be thinking along similar lines!”
Sounds like something exciting is growing! 🌱
If you’re interested in exploring ways to boost wellbeing, get moving, or just connect with others doing good things — Leighton would love to chat. Because that’s what GYUP is all about: supporting each other to make great ideas happen, one step (or seed!) at a time.
Contact Leighton at
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall
🌙 "Matt" at St George’s Theatre, Great Yarmouth – A Journey Through Shadows and Strength
On October 16th, 2025, the stage at St George’s Theatre, Great Yarmouth, became something truly special. It wasn’t just a performance — it was an experience.
Matt isn’t your typical play. It’s raw, emotional, and deeply human. 💔 It takes you into the mind of someone battling the constant spiral of thoughts — the kind that drag you down and refuse to let go. To live through that once is painful enough… but to go back there, to write about it, and then to play that part again and again in front of an audience — that takes real bravery.
As I watched, I found myself holding my breath. The words, the silence, the energy — it all blurred the line between theatre and reality. 🎭 Every person in that room saw something different, felt something different. That’s the beauty of it — Matt leaves space for your own interpretation, your own memories, your own pain and hope.
What struck me most was the courage it takes to share something so personal. To face the fear of being misunderstood, to still step forward and say, “This matters.” Because it does. ❤️
This performance isn’t just about darkness — it’s about redemption, reflection, and the possibility of light. It reminds us that even when our thoughts betray us, there’s always a chance to reach out, to be seen, to heal. 🌤️
Huge respect to Peter, whose dedication shines both on and off the stage. Through his work with Reflect Productions GY, he’s helping others find their voices too — using creativity as a path toward understanding and growth. 🌱
So here’s to Matt — a performance that lingers long after the lights fade.
And here’s to Peter — for daring to go there, again and again, so that others might find a way through. 🙏
See the scanned Programme for the play
#matttheplay
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall
Dawn Writes:
I wonder if you have noticed this: when you need help with something, just like I did this week and..... Well, firstly, let me give some context - having made some Cancer Screening videos in English, I wanted to reach our non-English speakers - how to do that?
So, I tentatively asked for help from our Whatsapp group and our local Mosque. What happened next, and this is what I am getting at, was that interesting phenomenon - when you are suddenly hit in the face with the realisation that strangers are not just happy to help - they are eager!! Can you relate?
So now, lo and behold, I have not one but TEN languages aside from English - who knew??
What an amazing response and what a testament to human kindness and collaboration - I am still overwhelmed by the speed of responses and the volume - Instant and so uplifting - I am still Floating on cloud 9 :)
A huge thnak you to Community Members who kindly provided the translations - So much appreciated 😁 - I am truly grateful and humbled
We will load the videos in these languages on our YouTube channel as we produce them -- check it out.
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- Written by: Dawn Heather
Doctor Sarah on Harbour Radio!
On Tuesday 8 January, Doctor Sarah took to the airwaves on Harbour Radio 107.4 FM, delivering an insightful show ... check it out on Facebook.
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- Written by: Sarah Flindall