Prisoner Anxiety

What you will find on this page

What is prisoner Anxiety
Prisoner anxiety v general anxiety
Prisoner anxiety checklist:
Risk factors and causes of prisoner anxiety.
When does prisoner anxiety become a problem?
Treatments for Anxiety in prison
Self help for prisoner anxiety
Who else can help

What is Prisoner Anxiety

Prisoner anxiety is best described as “a person who experiences fear, worry or nervousness when faced with the adaptation and adjustment to the unnatural and chaotic conditions of prisoner life”. (Peter Quinn 2017)

Safer landings use the term “prisoner anxiety” to describe anxiety that develops due to imprisonment. However, this is not a distinct medical condition.

Considering the route into and through the criminal justice system, and eventually to prison, it can be appreciated how at each step there is likely to be a heightening of anxiety; the process and build up can be a long and stressful experience.

Is prisoner anxiety the same as general anxiety?

n many ways yes, everyone feels anxiety. It's a normal emotion and our brain’s way of reacting to stress and alerting us of potential danger ahead.

What's more problematic about prisoner anxiety:

Prior irrational fears of imprisonment
the unpredictable nature of the prison environment and associated risk factors
The immediate disconnection from family ties
the limited availability of treatments you can access to alleviate anxiety symptoms.
Prisoners with anxiety tend to have a lot more going on in their mind, and most of these thoughts are comprised of many hypothetical situations

In the community when a person becomes anxious the opportunity to access effective treatments and receive support or coaching via face to face or online methods is readily available. An individual may seek comfort from knowing that, if need be, they can choose to walk out of that job interview or travel by car instead of flying on a plane. For these anxieties, there are options available.

In prison if locked in a cell, anxious about potential confrontation or excessively worrying about a loved one, you can't just get up, open your door and walk out of the prison and get away from the feeling of fear or doom, there are no immediate means of exit or escape. Online access to support or coaching is also unavailable and because there are people in the immediate environment poised to take advantage of weakness or exploit vulnerabilities, opening up and talking about anxiety is carefully measured and even avoided in fear of it being seen or mistaken as being "prang" or looking "shook" names often given to those who exhibit fear.

What actually makes prisoner anxiety more intense is the awareness of such restrictions.

“experiences of ‘fear, anxiety, loneliness, trauma, depression, injustice, powerlessness, violence and uncertainty’ have been identified as common to prison life” (Liebling & Maruna, 2005, p.3)

Prisoner anxiety checklist:

Do you experience any of the below

How it might make you feel

Have an increased heart rate when the cell door shuts?
Feel shaky or have palpitations when your cell door opens ?
Experience a sensation of dry mouth, or find yourself pacing up and down, especially when anticipating a visitor or mail

Feel agitated or nervous when you hear other prisoners shouting near you.
Get butterflies in your stomach when have to attend an appointment of the wing
Experience periods of heavy sweating, having difficulty breathing or sleeping.

Feel overwhelmed when thinking about your prison sentence.
Aware your constantly on edge pacing up and down your cell or just restless
Become stressed when planning to use the showers

How you might act anxiety out:

Wake in panic or fear and consider pressing the emergency cell bell?
Exhibit anger and frustration for no apparent reason?
Be told you look prang or shook
Avoid leaving your cell in case people are looking at you and noticing your anxiety

Use all your phone credit seeking reassurances from family or friends
Make you pace up and down, or a padmate requests for you to chill out
Stay close to your cell in case you quickly need to get out of the way of harm.

Always looking out for danger (hypervigilance) or thinking something untoward is about to happen
Smoke more vape juice as usual or increased intake of sugary items
Avoid looking at other people when talking to them.
Showing signs of self-loathing, or hopelessness

How anxiety influences our thoughts

Overthinking your offence, or the criminal proceedings you experienced.
Worry about family and loved ones more than normal
Believe in the worse outcomes in most situations

Without apparent reason, feeling a sense of madness or that you're losing control.
Conjure unhelpful hypothetical situations and think about them over and over again
Believe that using drugs will get rid of how you feel.

“Your eyes are more open to your environment, loud music, banging doors, shouting, childish comments, no one's asking if you are ok, you just feel isolated”

Risk factors and causes of prisoner anxiety.

Everyone who enters prison is in some way vulnerable to Prisoner Anxiety, the levels of anxieties experienced may be influenced by

Trauma. Children who endured abuse or trauma or witnessed traumatic events are at higher risk of developing an anxiety disorder at some point in life. Adults who experience a traumatic event also can develop anxiety disorders.

Stress due to an illness. Having a health condition or serious illness can cause significant worry about issues such as your treatment and your future.

Stress buildup. A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety — for example, an ongoing court case or an ongoing worry about finances.

Personality. People with certain personality types are more prone to anxiety disorders than others are.

Other mental health disorders. People with other mental health disorders, such as depression, often also have an anxiety disorder.

Having blood relatives with an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders can run in families.

Drugs or alcohol. Drug or alcohol use or misuse or withdrawal can cause or worsen anxiety.

Remand – Although remand prisoners receive more privileges, being housed in a prison under suspicion of having committed a crime can still be pressurising.

The prison environment – there are many events and circumstances that can trigger anxiety within the confines of a prison:

"Prison is a barely controlled jungle where the aggressive and the strong will exploit the weak, and the weak are dreadfully aware of it."

The prison subculture- The prison subculture or the unwritten code describes the customs, beliefs, attitudes, and lifestyles of prisoners within a particular prison.

Some of the unwritten rules:

You don't snitch, (do not inform on your fellow prisoners,)
Don't become too friendly with officers (screwboy)
If you borrow, you pay back double, and on time. (Double Bubble)
No loud noise after a certain time at night.
Knock before you enter a cell.

The prison regime – Prison rules and the expectation to comply with the regime upon arrival can be a painful and challenging adjustment especially within the first few weeks.

Parole - Awaiting a parole date, the preparation of a parole dossier, and attending a parole hearing will most likely cause anxiety. After a prisoner has sat a parole hearing its normal to have self doubt, worry excessively, feel restlessness and become agitated in light of the decision made by the parole board for release or against release. Anxiety symptoms may be more severe for prisoners who have attended more than one parole hearing and been refused release.

"Leading up to a parole hearing is intense, it's your chance to get out, your life's on the line. Mentally it breaks you, you are always thinking about it, not 10 minutes goes by without it being in your head, it’s even worse when you are behind the door. You don’t get support, you don’t go to other inmates, they have their own problems''

Criminal offence – in some cases, a prisoner will be consumed by thoughts of the crime they have committed, experiencing an overwhelming sense of guilt towards the victim and/or their family.

Recall to prison or repeat offenders – individuals re-entering prison on a regular basis, or who are serving lengthy sentences, often contemplate how the broader society judges them. This tends to encourage them to think they will never be able to re-assimilate into the ‘outside world’, increasing the sense of hopelessness.

Family – many prisoners will be anxious about the fate of their family or loved ones in their absence, especially if:

Children or loved ones fall ill, with no means of support or care to call upon.
The family has to confront debt or other financial difficulties.
There is a breakdown in communications with a partner or loved ones.
A family member, loved one or close friend dies.

Pending release – perhaps surprisingly, the prospect of release can also heighten anxiety, especially if an individual has to confront certain issues such as:

Debt
Unemployment
Lack of early intervention and resettlement planning
Homelessness
Recall
Probation

When does prisoner anxiety become a problem?

Prisoner anxiety becomes a problem when it interferes with your daily life, appears unexpectedly and affects how you communicate or feel about people. The usual criteria for persistent symptoms is 6 months but as former prisoners we understand the intensity of prisoner anxiety and would seek immediate support the moment you feel you cannot cope.

A person may consider seeking professional help if:

excessive anxiety persists in everyday situations
the feeling of anxiety is out of proportion to the cause
anxiety impacts daily life or leads to panic attacks (seek immediate help)

If you experience situations such as these, we encourage you to seek help to prevent longer-term mental health implications.

“The prison sentence broke me and changed the laddie I once was; outgoing, fun and a whole lot more. Now I’m a shadow of my former self and I feel I’ll never be the same again”

Treatments for Anxiety in prison

Self help This may be one of the only ways to take control and the quickest fix for anxiety as explained earlier the availability to access support quickly is hindered due to prison processes

Medication- Antidepressants Medication that can treat the symptoms of anxiety such as sertraline or citalopram. Depending on the symptoms, you may need medicine to treat your physical symptoms as well as your psychological symptoms.

Healthcare Healthcare may be able to connect you to a prison mental health worker who can provide further support or assist you in some way.

What deters prisoners from seeking support

A lack of Mental Health promotion and little understanding of mental ill health combined with the toxic masculinity that prevails in prisons can be factors that discourage prisoners from finding solutions or seeking support. Prison systems also make it obvious for those who are trying to address their mental health by:

Medical hatch`s placed on the wing and cues forming for prisoners to collect meds in front of others daily
Medical hatches in healthcare create long cues and often prisoners ask each other what medication is being collected, making it difficult for someone to talk about their mental health.
Healthcare and Medical hatch`s can be stigmatised by other prisoners who are healthy and never in need of medication.
Substance misuse is a growing problem in prison and so is the stigma of those addicted to drugs, when collecting medication prisoners can worry that they are being seen as potential substance misusers.
Some medications prescribed for depression or anxiety can be sold as they are seen as sleepers, this puts pressure on those needing medication to either sell or be bullied to handover to another.
Lack of mental health literacy can encourage a prisoner to suffer in silence in fear of being seen weak or “crazy” to others.

Self help for prisoner anxiety

The most three most important things you can do to try and control your anxiety is:

Eat well-balanced meals. Do not skip any meals. Try to keep to the healthy choices on the menu. Reduce caffeine use which can aggravate anxiety even more and possibly trigger panic attacks.
Get enough sleep. When you're feeling “stressed out”, your body needs to sleep and rest. Try to get at least eight hours of sleep every night.
Exercise daily. Exercise is a huge way to deal with anxiety, get out on the yard in the fresh air and walk, run or relax.

Other self help ideas

Learn about mental health. Get down to the library and read up on what influences our mental health, find what your symptoms are and understand or identify what's happening.
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. If you had toothache or sprained your ankle would you not be up in healthcare intent on getting it resolved? Don't fall into the trap that the two are any different, if anything prioritise your mental health.
Learn about your triggers. What causes you anxiety. Is it sharing a cell? Do you fear the unknown, what can you identify that is causing you to be anxious? Be honest with yourself and learn or understand why they are causing you to be anxious.
Write in a journal when you’re feeling symptoms, write them down and why , and try to look for a pattern. The more you become familiar with your symptoms and why they appear the easier you can try techniques below to reduce the intensity.
Help someone else, If your struggling to cope do you think your the only one, if you've decided to learn about mental health put it to good use and support someone else, “a problem shared is a problem halved”
Prevent getting into borrowing Anxiety can make us believe we need a quick fix and once we have it all will be okay. Don't borrow items from other prisoners such as food or vape caps because you feel it will reduce anxiety. All it will do is increase anxiety if you face issues with finances.
Stay away from situations that attract attention Choose wisely who you associate with, if your peers cause aggro on the wing then it's likely you'll be seen as a provocateur too.
Accept that you cannot control everything. Put your stress in the spotlight: Is it really that bad? find out what is fact from fiction.
Alcohol, cannabis or NPS- Stay away from, if you have recently drank hooch or took drugs could this be the reason why your anxious? Drug use on top of existing symptoms will amplify how you feel.
Take a time-out. Stepping back from the anxious feelings can help to clear your head. Stick headphones on to listen to music.
Get into reading, find an author or reading genre and get into all the books they wrote, this is a great way to switch your concentration and keep you focused on everything else but your own thoughts
Hit the gym- as well as reduce anxiety attending gym will improve how you feel and offer you opportunity to set small goals
Get enough sleep. When you're feeling “stressed out”, your body needs to sleep and rest.
Exercise daily. Exercise is a huge way to deal with anxiety get out on the yard and just chill
Attend a religious event- Attend the chapel this can give you a nice break from the wing or give you a break from what you have been feeling.
Talk to someone. Tell your loved one friends and family you’re feeling overwhelmed, and let them know how they can help you.

Practice anxiety reducing techniques

Take deep breaths. Inhale and exhale slowly.
Count to 10 slowly. Repeat, and count to 20 if necessary.
Find humor. A good laugh can switch your attention. Think of times you were the happiest, imagine a place or time that you can use to focus your thoughts on.
Cell workout Blast out several exercises, make a note of what you did and then try and improve each day continue this and you will see the rewards.
Stretch sit on your bed, relax and just practise stretching exercises. Think about each muscle, take your time and repeat daily.
Follow the 3-3-3 rule Look around you and name three things you see. Then, name three sounds you hear. move three parts of your body -- your ankle, fingers, or arm. Whenever you feel your brain going 100 miles per hour, this mental trick can help center your mind, bringing you back to the present moment.
Maintain a positive attitude. Anxiety tricks us to think about possible negatives. Try to think about a positive response to the negative thoughts that you might be having. What is factual from how you are actually feeling.
Think restoratively- restoration of wellbeing – self empowerment, restoration of self
worth through positive mental attitude.

Who else can help

Safer landings

Listeners

Listeners may be able to provide help, if you begin to become overwhelmed and feel anxiety is causing you constant distress, ask for a listener.

Safer Custody

Put in an application to speak to safer custody, explain how you feel, be honest in how you're coping and you should receive a visit.

Chaplaincy

Chaplaincy can offer some non judge-mental support or advice

Wing staff

Speak with your wing staff, explain how you feel, this may actually enable you a faster route to healthcare or safer custody, it could help the future support they provide to you if you are able to open up and talk about how you feel early. Prison staff are often seen as unhelpful when in fact they should be your first port of call.