Reconnected

Have you ever stopped to consider why a sexual assault or childhood sexual abuse can impact a person in such a profound and lasting way? You may have heard of rape paralysis, tonic immobility or a shut-down response and been curious as to how this occurs. Surely we are designed to fight a perpetrator?

Yet under conditions of extreme fear and in situations where escape is considered impossible, research has shown that our very design as humans may render us powerless to act and defend ourselves. Reconnected offers hope to survivors of sexual trauma as it presents an experience of recovery. It is written as a mix of Janine Stirling’s personal life story, together with the pelvic-floor physiotherapy approach that ultimately brought her healing.

Janine takes the reader on a journey, describing the challenges of intimacy and living with the symptoms of complex trauma. She explains how her physiotherapist built trust and hope – and how this was instrumental in providing a platform for change.

This book is a first of its kind in exploring how trauma of this nature can be treated in this way.