Dr Claire Plumbly's Blog

A sexual health screening appointment can be very difficult if you’ve experienced a sexual assault. Even the anticipation of going can be...

Firstly, if you are reading this after an assault then I want to say I'm so sorry this has happened to you, and I also want you to hear that it was not your fault, no matter how much you might think it was. A common upsetting thought after a sexual assault is: "why did I react like that?" People expect to react to an assault by shouting or running away but it's very common for people to react with the other fear responses: freeze, appease or flop which I'll explain here. Wha