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.
Hi everyone. I haven't posted much and certainly not for a while, but I found this group probably the same way the rest of you did... When life was really dark and there was nowhere else to turn.
I didn't know my boyfriend(at the time) when he got arrested- I met him while he was incarcerated, but he still had a few years left to go (an undetermined amount of time since he had transitioned from prison to a psychiatric hospital, and there's no set "release date" there). We had just started dating when I found this group, and I knew there would be a minimum of 2-3 years before he was out, so things felt pretty hopeless and depressing. I had never been in a situation like this before, and every minute that passed by felt like a lifetime even though we were able to enjoy a lot more privleges than we would if he were still in prison, so reading all your stories really broke my heart because I can't even imagine what you all are dealing with... I was fortunate enough to miss that part of it.
We managed to establish a routine of sorts, and eventually the time did pass. He got out, and after dealing with the complications of him being put in a halfway house for a while he was finally able to come home. We recently got married, he found a decent job, and God willing things are finally settling down into the life we always hoped that we'd be able to have together.
I say all this not to just give you guys an update but also to say this: if you are where I was when I found this group, in that dark void that you feel there's no escape from and there's no end in sight... It WILL get better, so please don't ever give up hope. Time passes, and though things may never be what they once were again, there's no reason why your "new normal" can't be just as good and worth fighting for.
Reading everyone's stories here definitely helped me feel less alone all this time, so please continue to reach out whenever you need! There's no shortage of people out there who won't understand our circumstances and will not hesitate to judge us harshly, but for every one of them there are countless others who have incarcerated loved ones who know exactly how we feel and will understand. I was not alone in this, and neither are you.
I hope you are all doing well and that your loved ones are all safe. I hope you are all together again soon. Happy Thanksgiving!
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I haven't written in my diary on my computer since May because I thought that my computer was dying. I got away from writing but my computer is hanging in there. I think that I will start writing in it again. It's so therapeutic.
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First, I hope everyone is doing well, and continuing to fight that good fight! Keep up the great work on yourselves; I'm rooting for all of you!So, I started doing therapy at the beginning of the year, when I was in my most depressed state, but with my therapist, I made big changes and steps in the right direction. But, over a month ago, she couldn't take my insurance anymore, and I had to stop...
I am also a DS old-timer. I spend most of my DS time in the Anxiety and PTSD forums. This particular forum is not very active, but DS is a BIG site with allot of compassionate support available. I may not be able to deal directly with the psychoticks of my prison birthright, but there is plenty of support for the offshoots. I work with what's available. Indirect help is better than no help at all.
I hope you'll take the time to surf around and see what else DS has to offer, Pharrah. Maybe even stick around for a while? Welcome back.
And yeah, indirect help is definitely better than no help at all. My husband was never in prison while I knew him, but this was the closest board I could find to what we were dealing with and it helped a lot more than I thought it would considering that difference.
I hope you're finding the help and support you need as well, whether it's here or on another board. It sucks feeling like you're alone and that no one else understands what you're going through.