I have never been to prison – not yet anyway – nor have I ever worked as a prison officer.
But having met many members of families in the Focus Group who have been to prison I believe that one of the most challenging aspects of imprisonment is boredom.
As I stated above there is a basic human need for excitement. This is why being locked up for many hours a day, with short times for exercise (and particularly solitary confinement) is such a difficult thing, and is potentially so damaging, for the human being.
In the Chapter on Anthropology I proposed that one of the reasons why living in towns and cities is attractive to us despite all their downsides is that we constantly meet different people. One of the most important sources of our excitement is other people, i.e. relationship – so it is truly punishing for society to deny someone contact with others.
Another important source of excitement in our lives is meaning. As an exercise, it might be good to write down everything that has meaning for you.
Try it now!
Perhaps you find meaning in the relationships that you have with members of the family you were born into (your grandparents, parents and siblings). If you have a partner/spouse and children they will undoubtedly have meaning for you. If you do not have children, you may find meaning in nieces, nephews or children of friends. What about your own friends? There are also things that have meaning like hobbies and interests. Some films, books etc. might have more meaning for you than others. Why is this? Do sport, politics, religion, current affairs have meaning, or the goings on of celebrities? Not to mention your education or your work. (I could go on and on here).
All the above are experiences that can excite – they might induce positive feelings or negative feelings. Usually, if we choose them consciously they are positive. As a general rule, I will state that if our life has meaning, it usually means that we have good enough excitement.
Imagine now if a substantial number of the above experiences were denied you? How would you feel? What would you get excitement from? If you have been to prison you might be able to throw some light on this question.
Negative events in our lives can have meaning, but it can be difficult for any of us to find meaning in them. (That doesn’t mean that the negative event hasn’t meaning – it’s just not that easy to find it)!
So it is very difficult for people who are in prison to find meaning in their incarceration, and then, when in prison, to find things that have meaning for them. I have met men and women who did – but it requires a bit of a journey.
The journey to our truth can be a difficult one – and it needs time, space and support.
Lack of meaning can cause us to feel empty – which can be very debilitating, and often leads to having little hope. This, in turn, poses substantial challenges for all who work in the prison or imprisonment environment.
But despite the problems and difficulties, there are also great opportunities, which is why I revisit the topic later in the website, here and again here.