Prison anxiety or Incarcerophobia (from Latin incarcero meaning "jail") is the fear of going to jail or prison.

 

Anybody can suffer this fear even though they have never committed a crime in their lives.

 

Have you ever watched a film about prison such as the Shawshank redemption or the recent series Time and for a moment imagined what it would be like if that was you? If so, can you remember how it made you feel? Or maybe you just found yourself walking through prison scenarios struggling to figure out how or if you'd cope.

 

It's not uncommon, at some point in life we encounter such situations via media or tv or even in conversations and being empathetic in nature act out the situations or circumstances in our heads and imagine what life would be like as a prisoner, you may have even woke one night from a dream or nightmare about being trapped inside a prison. Whatever the origin and cause the overall feeling of being imprisoned is  frightening.

 

For anybody who does live with fears of going to prison or suffers with prison anxiety (Incarcerophobia ) and hasn't done anything illegal it's not uncommon to:

 

• Do everything possible to stay out of trouble.

• Feel anxious when seeing police officers or police patrol cars

• Feel panicky when pulled over by the police.

• Ensure all their bills and tax is paid on time in fear of court action.

• Avoid calling the police when witnessing an accident or involved in an accident.