Families of Prisoners Support Group
This community is dedicated to families that have been disrupted by prison. Having a loved one incarcerated or having been incarcerated comes with its own unique challenges that require support and understanding. Join the group to find others who know what you're going through, and to seek advice or share your experience.
A question was asked over at the Families of Sex Offender board about dealing with depression while in prison. I posted my experience and hopefully your loved one can benefit from this-------
One of the best methods to keep from being depressed is to keep busy and your mind occupied, preferably with a worthwhile project. I kept busy with my tutoring and law clerk work at the law library. Teaching GED classes also gave me a sense of accomplishment and made me feel good about myself, as I was helping others.
Many inmates read several hours a day. They are able to escape some of the realities in prison by getting lost in a book.
It helps to surround yourself with positive people. Sadness and the woe-is-me mentality is contagious, so avoid those types of inmates.
Many inmates spent hours writing letters. Writing sometimes is therapeutic and even if all those letters were not answered, it helped the inmate just to write out his thoughts.
Some guys do not have a job such as I did, so I have seen them get involved in the leather shop, the woodworking shop, and making crafts within the cell. If a person does not stay busy, it is too easy for negative thoughts to enter his or her mind.
Learn to "make your own happiness." I have been in a few dire situations, but I learned to somehow be happy. No, I was not joyful being in prison for such a long time, but I did accept my situation and was able to laugh a lot about things. I was in a decent mood most of the time. Sometimes the simplest things can bring a smile to your face. Getting together with some guys to work a crossword puzzle was always a positive exercise for me. Some may laugh at that, as that seems silly, but a person's perspective on things will change drastically when he is locked up.
Take time to exercise just a little each day. A person does not have to exercise for hours every day, but it never hurts to walk out on the yard for at least 30 minutes a day.
Do NOT depend on others for your happiness. You are in there all on your own, and you cannot let the fact that you have very few visits make you sad.
Hope this helps.
rewdiazepam
One of the best methods to keep from being depressed is to keep busy and your mind occupied, preferably with a worthwhile project. I kept busy with my tutoring and law clerk work at the law library. Teaching GED classes also gave me a sense of accomplishment and made me feel good about myself, as I was helping others.
Many inmates read several hours a day. They are able to escape some of the realities in prison by getting lost in a book.
It helps to surround yourself with positive people. Sadness and the woe-is-me mentality is contagious, so avoid those types of inmates.
Many inmates spent hours writing letters. Writing sometimes is therapeutic and even if all those letters were not answered, it helped the inmate just to write out his thoughts.
Some guys do not have a job such as I did, so I have seen them get involved in the leather shop, the woodworking shop, and making crafts within the cell. If a person does not stay busy, it is too easy for negative thoughts to enter his or her mind.
Learn to "make your own happiness." I have been in a few dire situations, but I learned to somehow be happy. No, I was not joyful being in prison for such a long time, but I did accept my situation and was able to laugh a lot about things. I was in a decent mood most of the time. Sometimes the simplest things can bring a smile to your face. Getting together with some guys to work a crossword puzzle was always a positive exercise for me. Some may laugh at that, as that seems silly, but a person's perspective on things will change drastically when he is locked up.
Take time to exercise just a little each day. A person does not have to exercise for hours every day, but it never hurts to walk out on the yard for at least 30 minutes a day.
Do NOT depend on others for your happiness. You are in there all on your own, and you cannot let the fact that you have very few visits make you sad.
Hope this helps.
rewdiazepam
Thank you!
He does his craft projects that he actually sells to help pay my bills, and put in his canteen. That temporarily stopped when he got in some stupid trouble, and they took his craft stuff away. He will get it back soon. It really helps his demeanor doing something he feels proud about.
He doesn't like to read much, but does sometimes. He no longer writes very much, has had to for class so much.
He has a guy in there now he new in another prison, so weather permitting, they go for walks and talks. That makes him feel better too. Someone that he can trust.
I know it helps him to give me advice when something breaks down, so that it is fixed possibly, and is miserable he can't be here to help me.
He did have a job. They took it away when he got in trouble. He did have a private little room. They took that away too. When he had those, he was not so depressed. He could hide away in his own private space and just do things he wanted to do, or sleep in peace and quiet. Something we can't know what it's like.
He recently got another job, but it was in the kitchen, cutting up veggies and fruit, and he is allergic to that, so he quit it. Plus it was the hours he could call me when I wasn't working, and he didn't want to not be able to talk to me.
He calls several times a day, I go see him, and now he is in the process of finding out where they will ship him to next. A minimum security place. One is close to here. One is FAR away. 2 hours and 40 minutes compared to an hour now, or an hour at the other place.
Both places they get to wear normal clothes, work at a real job, send money home. We get to have all day visits on weekends. We can go fishing together too. And I can bring food to barbecue while there. That would be so great. Don't know if the far place lets us do that. It will certainly be better for both of us if he gets the one place.
He is at a PRC meeting now, telling them his two choices where he would like to go. I said to tell him only the one place or they would put him at the other one. That's the way they operate it seems.
When he is depressed, he gets crabby big time. But which of us wouldn't living like they do.
In a letter I might send to him, I said that I know he has been so miserable this time, but he worked hard in treatment and maybe he has to have been miserable more than ever for it all to sink in. Maybe the thinking about how he was, and what he did will finally change him. Gotta hope.
I have been keeping busy besides working and my huge list of house problems, going to help my parents, and see my kids, and working. I have kept from being too depressed most of the time.
He loves hearing about anything I do, so he can envision it, instead of just seeing what is in there.
We are planning to move. Think we might get the old school house in the Spring. We have to wait for things to get fixed on it before the owner can let us move in. And he don't want me to have to move on my own.
We are also planning a trip. We were going to Chicago, for the Nascar race. But that's toooooo expensive, so we might go to a big drag race in northern MN a week or so after he gets home. It gives him something to look forward to. We are on the home stretch now with 7 months. I hope he has learned his lesson THIS TIME!