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Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison I didn't use a fork for a few weeks. Ate everything with a spoon without thinking. It's not the most interesting thing but I hadn't noticed it posted here.

justinlarson , mike krzeszak Report

Final score:

92points

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Karen Startz Richardson 1 year ago

Ah! The good old 'spork'... ( I worked many, many years as a prison/ county jail nurse)

4points

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison staring at sharp things. Like theres no desire to use them innapropriatly but you are just kinda shocked they're there and available for use. You might be suprised what qualifies as a sharp object. I remember whenever someone tried to hand me a knife or something to cut veggies Id be afraid to touch it. Glass was the biggest thing though, just mirrors in all the bathrooms. real ones. I could smash that s**t and have a big jagged weapon, i cant believe this italian restraunt has such a dangerous thing in their bathroom.
stopping thinking of objects as weapons is hard

Skishkitteh , Neeta Lind Report

Final score:

89points

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Parmeisan 1 year ago

This is such a small-seeming, but profoundly view-changing thing. I can just picture this person standing in a restaurant bathroom trying to wrap their head around "this is how people on the outside live". We never even notice.

10points

Well, according to inexorable statistics, the United States is the world leader in incarceration, having over 1.8 million imprisoned just in 2023. At the same time, every year approximately 600 thousand people leave the prison gates - and they all need to somehow integrate into ordinary life. Alas, not everyone actually succeeds in this.

According to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), among prisoners released from jails in 34 states in the five-year period from 2012 to 2017, seventy percent were arrested again within the next five years. As for prisoners with juvenile records, here the recidivism rate is even higher - 80%. Yes, imprisonment has a strong influence on the human psyche, even too much...

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Doing laps. In prison, every time you get time on the yard, you do laps. Seriously, almost every single person does it too. When you get out, it's hard to break that habit.

Official--Moderator , Vee Report

Final score:

83points

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Lauren Bridger 1 year ago

I did this alot in jail. There's not much room. You rarely get to go outside. It would help going to sleep because I tired my body out. I can sleep through anything now. Door bangs, fights, toilets, yelling, etc. Once I'm asleep I don't wake up for s**t.

18points

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison I find myself hoarding toilet paper under my bed. Sometimes I do it without thinking and I'll look under there and have 10 rolls of tp

tentosamo , Mike Mozart Report

Final score:

79points

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Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago

Well prepared for the next pandemic

25points

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Hoard feminine hygiene products. We were super limited on the number of pads or tampons they gave us. They didn't give any to the women in holding cells. There was dried and fresh menstrual blood on the floor and concrete benches, and a drain in the middle of the rooms like they intended to hose down the room, but if they did it was not often enough.

feiticeirarose , Brenna Report

Final score:

66points

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MaryHadaLittleLamb 1 year ago

That is inhumane. Cruel and unusual punishment. Not to mention discriminatory, since only women receive this treatment.

115points

Many convicts in prison develop a large number of specific habits that are caused by constantly being in a closed space, the regulation of many aspects of their lives by third-party rules and, let's be honest, the constant presence of danger - after all, they are 24/7 surrounded by people who have also broken the law. Accordingly, after release, adapting to ordinary life can be very, very difficult.

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Taking as long as you want in the shower. For the longest time after I got out, I took less than 5 minute showers.

Dysphoric_Otter , Petras Gagilas Report

Final score:

63points

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Christine welsh 1 year ago

not having a timer on your shower is amazing or having to wait for it to go off and sit for 5 mins and press it again , covered in soap lol

1point

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison I knew of a guy who got out after 15 years. He had to call a friend to come and let him out of his apartment. They'd go out, do some shopping or whatever and then his friend would "lock him up" for the night.

Dude could not work doors himself without irrational fear. He did get better after a few months, but I hear he still has trouble doing things independently.

VikingTeddy , Adam Campbell Report

Final score:

63points

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Malfar 1 year ago

I know people (acquaintances of acquaintances) who committed new crimes simply because they couldn't get used to not having anyone manage their time for them

22points

Elrond_the_Ent , cottonbro studio Report

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Constantly looking over my shoulder. By far the hardest conditioning to break, which I haven't and doubt I ever will, is the constant pessimism and cautious optimism. You see, when you're waiting to work your way through court, get a deal, and get sentenced, you will have your dates changed 50 times, hope for certain things only to be disappointed, and any time you are told something hopeful it doesn't work out.

As a result, I never get excited for something until it actually happens. When my wife told me we were pregnant (I already knew from her symptoms that she was but still, you never know for sure till you take the test), I was obviously happy, but because I'm always cautiously optimistic and rarely show emotion, I couldn't feel comfortable or excited until I knew that my developing daughter was healthy. Even then, it didn't really hit me till she was born.

You can apply this to anything especially big events. Getting engaged, planning the wedding, buying a house, ANYTHING. I still hear from my wife how i wasn't crazy surprised or excited to be having a kid. I was, I actually was the half of the relationship who was dead set on a kid when my wife supposedly could've gone either way.

You just can't get your hopes up or look forward to anything until it is here or has happened. I've been home over 7 years now and with my wife for 6.5. She's truly the catalyst that motivated me to truly change my life and to not give any more of my life to the system, but she'll never know how happy she makes me because she misinterprets my cautious optimism/realism for pessimism or indifference.

Final score:

60points

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Brainmas 1 year ago

Dude I feel this. I didn't spend much time in, but I went through trials and it was definitely unnerving to say the least. I had the same feeling during my own pregnancy as you described. I think it probably has more to do with how I was raised, but that c**p is what got me into the situation that got me locked up so. I always keep my expectations low, but I do get really excited when things work out.

12points

Yes, being in prison is a traumatic psychological experience for most people, and adaptation to normal life after release should ideally include therapy and a whole range of psychological support. Unfortunately, this does not always correspond to reality...

“The biggest problem is the criminal justice system, and the mental health system are not closely aligned,” VeryWell Mind quotes Robert Morgan, PhD, chair and John G. Skelton Jr., regents endowed professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Texas Tech University. “We need to teach [former inmates] system management and how to cope. We need to teach them about their mental illness and make sure that they know once they leave, they need to reconnect with the mental health system.” In an ideal world - yes. In real life - who knows?

#10

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison I don't smoke, but every time someone offered me a cig I would pocket it. on the inside thats a bartering chip, took me about a month or two to break

interchangeable-bot , Fred Dough Report

Final score:

58points

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Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 1 year ago

One cigarette sold for ten dollars in the prison I was in.

3points

#11

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Sounds like there’s a major epidemic of ex-prisoners with PTSD that society doesn’t talk about.

ButternutSasquatch , Inzmam Khan Report

Final score:

55points

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Ash 1 year ago

Not to mention that there is a significantly higher number of people in prison with mental health problems and mental disabilities than there is in the general population, simply because we have a terrible mental health culture and we criminalize things we should be treating instead...

9points

#12

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Making prison commissary-only food. Everyone around me thinks it is gross as hell to throw summer sausages, pickles, cheese, doritos, cheetos, and such into my ramen noodles, but good lord, I can't stop, and I have been out for five years.

peanutjesus , Joy Report

Final score:

53points

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Hokuloa 1 year ago

Yeah, this includes people who have grown in poverty as well. Old habits are hard habits. Maybe tasty habits too!

21points

Prison life has always had its reflection in culture - suffice it to say that the first place in the IMDb Top 250 list has been occupied by The Shawshank Redemption for several decades. However, we do not know what mental problems Andy Dufresne faced after his glorious escape - and he spent almost twenty years behind bars. Maybe Stephen King will write a sequel about all this one day - and meanwhile we're looking forward to your own comments and maybe own stories below this list as well.

#13

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison A somewhat-friend of mine did a few years and the one habit he couldn't shake was distrusting people.

He said that people in prison are never nice, if they're nice it's because of a hidden motive. Up to this day he still doesn't trust people who act nice / generous / helpful / .. towards him.

ehamo , Wayne Fotografias Report

Final score:

50points

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Tristan J 1 year ago

This doesn't require prison

12points

#14

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison A couple guys I know-after being out for 5-10 yrs- wrap their arms around their plates and shovel food in their mouths at the speed of light. They are also super defensive of their food. When I first got to know them I jokingly swiped a chip off one of their plates and he flipped his fork up and demanded I give it back, freaked me out a lil

917starlette , Raul Report

Final score:

50points

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Sandy Price 1 year ago

I ain't done time but God help u if u jack something off my plate.

23points

#15

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Realising I could just get up and go somewhere. That I could make plans tomorrow from a thousand different choices.

Hard to break the habit of checking everyone who enters your vicinity. It feels like you’ve gotta mark everyone off as a non threat

Edit: I don’t care if you do that and you’ve never been to prison

anon , Judy Dean Report

Final score:

48points

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SweetCheesySpaghetti 1 year ago

Love the edit here. People who have never been in a situation love to tell people who have how much they know about the situation they have never been in.

43points

themanicmechanic3 , Stephanie Red Report

#16

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Definitely sleeping habits. Still haven't broke them. Haven't slept a full night in over a decade. Any noise and my eyes are open and I'm wide awake. I can hear really well. A raccoon comes nightly to eat scraps and cat food and I can hear him crunching outside on the porch from bed on the opposite side of the house (roughly 60feet away). Wide awake.

Final score:

48points

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Lydsylou 1 year ago

That must get so annoying

11points

#17

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison All of this sounds eerily similar to be being deployed ....

anon , Mike Cofrancesco Report

Final score:

47points

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Luke Branwen 1 year ago

Both involve putting desperate people into traumatizing situations full of dehumanization and violence, so I kinda see why.

47points

myjobbetternotfindme , Timothy Krause Report

#18

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison My ex would sleep a certain way all the time. To me it seemed like he was sleeping as if he was in a coffin,his arms crossed and wouldn’t move the entire night for a couple months. He eventually broke that habit.

Edit: a word

Final score:

40points

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Awesome At Being Autistic 1 year ago

Yeah, I feel this. My prison "single bed" was about 15cm shorter than a regular single bed. I've been out for almost 3 years now, and I still freak out that I'm falling off my bed, even though it's a double bed now, and only me.

3points

H0rny Cl!t Eating Lesbian 1 year ago

Thank God that he is your ex, can't imagine having an ex-con as a boyfriend, would probably turn violent and abuse you.

-1point

#19

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison My uncle was in prison for a while and we've talked a bit about his experience and how it effected him:

-He has a hard time not being violent. You'd never guess since he mainly just sits in a corner and smokes but he's been out for nearly ten years and still always struggles with using his words

-The guy cannot stand authority. He tells me that its hard to listen to bosses when you know you're probably smarter and tougher than them. He knows most people feel this way, but he just can't ignore it. He's taken up professional carving so he can be his boss.

-He's really in touch with our native roots now, on account of joining a first nations gang in prison.

-Doesn't talk much, I don't know if that's because of prison but he really only speaks if he wants to. Not the type of guy who likes to talk just to talk.

-Doesn't have a lot. He has some sort of abandonment issue or something so he doesn't want a lot of things to miss if he goes back to prison.

-For all the time he doesn't spend with people, he's out with nature or doing something in the wilderness. I think it helps keep him calm and feel connected.

Nice enough guy, but prison kind of f****d him up I think and he's going to live his life being slightly disconnected with people

hippynoize , LawPrieR Report

Final score:

40points

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PeepPeep the duck 1 year ago

I noticed a kitchen hand as a teenager in the restaurant I grew up in, he was so funny and cool and hot etc and then he ‘went away’ and a year later when he was back, he was overly reserved, not talking and fun like he used to be. Someone had to pull me aside and explain cos I was so young/naive and confused. He was only in for dealing a small amount of pot. Which is scary to think 1gram of weed means a year later youlll be a different person in a bad and sad way.

37points

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#20

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Not me personally but I know a guy that said after he got out he just wanted McDonald's. When he got there he spent 20 minutes staring at the menu trying to decide what to order because he wasn't used to having choices.

Anynamethatworks , Mike Mozart Report

Final score:

39points

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PeepPeep the duck 1 year ago

I have served people like this in restaurants 😆 they are darling. I just end up picking something for them. Based on a short list of questions like what do you hate and what do you love (like eg. do you hate cheese or love it, chicken or beef? )

43points

#21

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison The hardest thing has been to talk without using the words f**k, f*****g or a*****e in every sentence.

james0martin , Kindel Media Report

Final score:

37points

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Moxitron Jazz 1 year ago

what an odd picture to accompany this post...

38points

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#22

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison I had to completely change my sense of time. I agree with all the people who said they ate super fast, but then we would slow walk back from the chow hall- any excuse for a few minutes more outside.

I made sure I never consolidated enjoyable things. If I had a snack- I ate it and concentrated on it. If there was something good on TV, I watched it. Now, I’ll snack while I watch a movie because there aren’t enough hours in the day- but on the inside I was trying to make hours and days go away.

I’ve got a good job now, and nice respectable friends, but I still react to confrontational situations more quickly, decisively and... efficiently than they do. I’m able to pull back at the last minute, but it’s pretty clear that violence is not a tool in their arsenal.

DeuceTheDog , Caitlin Regan Report

Final score:

37points

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Becky Samuel 1 year ago

This stretching of things to fill time is so hard to explain to people who are working and keeping house and doing all the 'normal' things. When you have disabilities that make it impossible to achieve more than one or two things in a day, time stretches out like a vast void in front of you and it's hard to imagine how to fill the decades ahead without going completely nuts. All you can do is try not to think about it and do whatever it takes to get through right now.

9points

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#23

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison When my dad got out of prison (10+ years) we nicknamed him Martha Stewart because he was such a clean freak. His home looks like an ikea catalog, he has glass containers for his shoes, he wakes up early to iron/wash/scrub everything.
When I lived with him for a year, I was grounded so many times over leaving water drops in the sink.

pimberly , Ann Report

Final score:

36points

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SadieCat17 (she/her) 1 year ago

I have something similar that happens. After a stressful or traumatic event, I get the hardcore need for everything to be *right* and it isn't, I sometimes freak the f**k out. Poor guy is probably out of his mind trying to mentally stay together by physically making his world stable.

17points

#24

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Not me - but guy who worked for me. When things were very busy, I would often get carry-out lunch for everyone and bring it back to the workplace. This one guy would eat a cheeseburger and french fries in two minutes. Wow! Once I asked him why he ate so quickly. He said "Well nobsforgma, I spent 7 years in a Federal prison and if you didn't eat your meal in 10 minutes, you didn't get anything. That 10 minutes often included the time it took standing in line to get your food." OK then. I never said anything to him about it after that.

NoBSforGma , H. Michael Miley Report

Final score:

35points

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SweetCheesySpaghetti 1 year ago

My husband spent some time in juvie over 25 years ago. He still eats his food like someone is about to steal it. I've never seen him take longer than 7 minutes to eat a meal. No matter how hard he tries, he's never been able to break the habit.

14points

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#25

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Not being able to goto the free infirmary when sick or hurt.

donkeywhax , upupa4me Report

Final score:

35points

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Moxitron Jazz 1 year ago

a tragic irony...

25points

#26

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Not me but my best friend who spent 2/3 of her life locked up in juvie and prison: If she wanted a glass of water, she would ask permission.

Also, if we were at my apartment and we're gonna leave to go somewhere, she would stand behind the door and wait for me to open it. As if the door to my apartment was locked and only I had the keys.

RIP M

Dongo666 , I G Report

Final score:

29points

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LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago

I lack any faith/beliefs (other than a firm conviction that the Rainbow Bridge is a real place where our beloved pets go after death) but I sincerely hope M is at peace now.

25points

#27

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison I spent 72 months in prison for a tragic car accident that I had caused. After I was released I kept telling my wife exactly what I was doing without her asking. She thought it was funny at first but after a few weeks of it she was starting to get bothered.

carter5oh , Vera Arsic Report

Final score:

28points

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Lisa T 1 year ago

Why would you not just say 6 years, instead of 72 months?

14points

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#28

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Having your head on a swivel, protecting your personal property in an obsessive manner, and sizing everyone up. When I was locked up, I always knew what was going on 360 degrees around me. Only the last unit I was in had lockers with actually locks, so before that, I had to protect my commie, paperwork and books all the time. Most people would fight you to take your s**t because that is the respectful way to do it, but cat burglars are the worst; they sneak around and take s**t. They get f****d up by everyone when they get caught. It is code: you want my s**t, come get it. Not sneaking around and steal it. I’ve been out for almost a year and a half but I still constantly size people up. No matter where it is (grocery store, Walmart, walking down the street), I still analyze each person and figure my best course of action if we have to fight.

sDotAgain , Nicola Barts Report

Final score:

27points

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K Buff 1 year ago

People from law enforcement families do the exact same thing. We size everyone up and always have an exit strategy

8points

#29

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Dude I work with said for the first little bit after getting out he would take a leg out of his pants when he’d s**t. Not sure how common that was, dude’s a fighter though, so maybe that had something to do with it.

themeltykind , Bastian Greshake Tzovaras Report

Final score:

25points

POST

SweetCheesySpaghetti 1 year ago

This makes total sense. Less vulnerable. Every time i read these I get so sad for the people needing to come up with these kinds of ways to protect themselves in the most ordinary of situations.

18points

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#30

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Not wearing shoes in the shower. Eating with forks and knives. Having salt and pepper for food. Not always having to watch your back. Being able to get food when you want it, and just get up and leave to go for a drive or something.

the-walkin-dude- , Didriks Report

Final score:

24points

POST

#31

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Hardest habit? Talking s**t to dum***s old men who think they're right cuz they're old. Easiest habit? I'm never eating top ramen or getting a bowl cut from a Mexican "barber" again

the_mighty_j , Tim Gouw Report

Final score:

23points

POST

Sarah Kathrin Matsoukis 1 year ago

Nothing wrong with that

3points

#32

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Not an ex con but my step dad has been in and out of prison for the majority of his life, he always said that whenever he gets out of prison you're so use to to it being loud all the time that when he got home he couldn't sleep because it was so quiet.

anon , mckinney75402 Report

Final score:

23points

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Cranky when UNcaffeinated 1 year ago

My older brother is a trucker and cannot sleep at home. He's so used to the noise of the truck and vibration that sometimes on a home weekend, he still sleeps in the truck and goes home in the morning. His wife gets it but it sometimes aggravates her. He's lived in that thing for almost 12 years so that's home now.

2points

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#33

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Never been to prison. But i did a few months in county jail. Something i havnt seen mentioned is trading food. When i got out i asked my girlfried to trade me her chicken wings for my macorni. Pure habit. I really couldve just went to the kitchen and got more chicken

Ondareal , gromgull Report

Final score:

22points

POST

Jan Rosier 1 year ago

what's the difference? both have bars and cells I guess...

4points

#34

Ex-Offenders Open Up About 34 Hard-To-Break Habits After Coming Out Of Prison Just knowing what I could do to someone who crosses me. Knowing just how badly I could f**k them up physically and mentally. I have to remind myself that "no, this person probably has a family, probably hasn't done anything wrong in his life, don't destroy him just because you can."

anon , rebcenter moscow Report

Final score:

16points

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Becky Samuel 1 year ago

Being in touch with and understanding your personal 'monster' doesn't make you a bad person. You are much less likely to lose control and do something you'll regret if you can admit to yourself that you are capable of doing these things. Pretending that we are all sweet little kitties is ignoring the fact that cats are ferocious predators that will kill for fun.

14points

After many years of working as sports journalist and trivia game author and host in Ukraine I joined Bored Panda as a content creator. I do love writing stories and I sincerely believe - there's no dull plots at all. Like a great Italian composer Joaquino Rossini once told: "Give me a police protocol - and I'll make an opera out of it!"

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I started as a writer, but time came when I wanted more, so I learned how to do the visuals for my articles too, with the help of my wonderful colleagues. When I had the chance to become an editor, I jumped at the opportunity, because I know that it will be the best way for me to learn more and help out my wonderful colleagues in return.

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What do you think ?

POST

LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago

I know our beloved Shyla, soft can-opener and servant of the lovely Bouche and Audi, has always been open about spending time in prison. Shyla, if you happen across this article and my comment, I truly truly hope that you feel a measure of peace now, with your fur-darlings/everything else in your life. I am always constantly wishing you all the best. Gah okay, I know that sounds like Facebook "thoughts and prayers", but what I REALLY mean is that I think of you and your kitties often and I hope you are all happy <3 I consider you a friend even though we have never met IRL. :)

22points

Auntriarch 1 year ago

Well said Lakota, I second that

9points

Rens 1 year ago

This is a lot like it feels after finally getting out of an abusive relationship with a narcissistic ex. I still hoard things I wasn't allowed to have like nice body products, toilet paper. I still always put away my things so that they don't get broken or taken away; I am always hyper vigilant, don't like anyone being behind me; always look for the way to escape; I still get triggered by men shouting, loud noises, and I avoid confrontation because I don't know how I might react if I feel threatened. It's been 5 years and I live alone for a reason; I will also never let anyone have access to or control of my money/bank account.

15points

Brainmas 1 year ago

I don't know why you got downvoted, because there is a similarity when you are being so completely controlled and dehumanized. I'll probably get downvoted too, but I did do a year in jail as well as my time in scary manipulative relationships. If I had to chose between jail and my ex, I'd go back to jail.

15points

Ryan-James O'Driscoll 1 year ago

I did some time in my country. It was massively traumatic. I don't say that because I expect anybody to sympathise with me, but simply because it was. It's not the "hotel" the media likes to portray it as, by any measure. Imprisonment is the punishment and it is horrible. It goes well beyond being put in a room and locked in. Dehumanising and abusive treatment by staff or other inmates is not. I fully agree that the victims of crime are the main people who matter. But that shouldn't mean that retribution is the best focus of the justice system. The countries that have the lowest rates of recividism are those who treat their prisoners the most humanely. For my part, the prison staff I dealt with were professional and affable. They weren't there to make friends, but they weren't there to make lives difficult either. Being treated as a person made prison something I could build from and turn my life around from.

14points

LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago

I do sympathize and I hope you are doing okay/better now! I have not been incarcerated, but I have struggled with substance abuse (yay drugs) for many years and while it is NOT the same thing, I know what it is like to be in a shítty situation that you really, really want to get out of, but can't (without help of some kind.) Again, not nearly the same thing, but you have my empathy. You paid your dues, and you deserve some peace now. (I was sober/in recovery for nearly a year but recently relapsed due to relationship/family stresses. Good times.)

9points

Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 1 year ago

One of the oddest things about getting out was the color. People walking around in clothing of every color under the sun, sometimes all at once! After eleven years of beige and grey (with a little brown, black, or white for variety), it was shocking. Other than some clothes my mom bought me before I got out, every clothing item I own is colored, down to my panties. My living room is green. I have purple furniture. I have pictures on the walls. Even the cats have brightly colored toys. I can't get enough of color.

7points

Rostit. . 1 year ago

Our society has a lot of things that create PTSD. freaking sad.

5points

Chicken Nugget 1 year ago

These things are exactly why we need to 'rehabilitate' (that doesn't seem like the right word to use for a human being, but I can't think of a better one) people instead of just locking them away. Give them a fighting chance to be and do better.

2points

The Original Bruno 1 year ago (edited)

Forget what you THINK you know about U.S. prisons. I did prison ministry and the prisons weren't much worse than my state university. It's the jails that are horrible. Which makes no sense to me because prisons are for convicts and jails are for people awaiting trial or who committed minor crimes with short sentences. I also think it's stupid that prisoners are allowed to body build all day long. The guards terrible job of guarding leads to race-based gangs. But the worst thing about U.S. regarding prisons is that so many people figure prison rape is a form of justice; it's the worst of the worst committing that crime and least of the worst suffering from it. Oh, and the Green Mile and the Shawshank Redemption bear no reality to anything I ever saw or heard about, at least in modern America.

2points

The Original Bruno 1 year ago (edited)

I had a very time watching Mitch and Cam on Modern Family because Cam didn't remind me of any gay man I knew but instead he reminded me so much of ... how do I put this ... the men who became the designated women in the prison. Not gay men. Not transgenders. Straight men who were so repeatedly raped so often they basically became permanently disassociated.

1point