How to Adjust to Prison Life

Your attitude makes all the difference as you live behind bars.

Watching Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) and the other rookie prisoners entering a maximum security prison in the 1994 movie, “The Shawshank Redemption,” a group of hardened convicts bet on which one will not last the first night. Red (Morgan Freeman) bets against Andy but loses, because Andy seems to draw upon some inner resolve to rise above his circumstances, though he was wrongfully convicted. Later, Red said Andy seemed like a “man in the park without a care or worry. Like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place.” Some prisoners learn to adjust; some never do. It is your attitude that will determine how you respond to such adversity.

Instructions

1. Leave behind your former life. If you mentally remain in denial about your predicament, particularly if you are truly innocent, you will only prolong your adjustment period. Accepting your fate, no matter how unjust, is the first step to coping with your circumstances.

2. Prepare for a dehumanizing start. Suddenly, no longer are you a free moral agent. All your decisions are made for you -- what to wear, what to eat, what possessions you may have. You are now only a number and your surname is all that anyone will ever utter. You must now live a highly regimented schedule under strict rules covering every aspect of life. You are even subject to periodic strip searches, cell inspections and more. Personal privacy becomes an unknown quantity.

3. Tune out the racket. Noise is constant, whether endless music, inmates talking or shouting across the cell block or the clanging of cell doors. If you do not condition yourself to tune out the din, it can exact a psychological toll.

4. Act sensibly if you want to stay safe. Mind your own business and do not get nosy about anyone’s past, nor disclose too much personal information. Do not get into needless arguments over insignificant topics. Remain alert at all times as you practice the Golden Rule, treating everyone respectfully. Conduct yourself properly, and take time to build mutual trust.

5. Get a diploma or degree. Whatever education you are missing, take advantage of the prison library and improve your situation to enhance future employment possibilities. Also, consider seeking out additional employment and recreational opportunities to further engage mind and body.

6. Live life a day at a time, refusing to fall into despair if you face a long incarceration. It is absolutely normal to feel down at times, but ensure you do not stay there. Remain positive, and carve out a meaningful existence as you strive to build body, mind and spirit within the confines of a structured, harsh existence.

Resources

• Arise and Shine: David Berkowitz's (Former Son of Sam) Testimony & Translations