Seasoned inmate's, already have served longer time in prison, know the ways of prison life and can guide the new inmate on what to do, what not to do, and especially how to survive. Man and Cronan (2001) describe a warden in Texas simplified the best way a new inmate can survive as "go along with the program." If you witness a crime occurring in your cell, leave and do not get involved if you want to make it out of prison alive and hopefully without being raped. Heroes and squealers usually wind up dead or severely wounded.
Another solution to overcoming almost all the different challenges prison life can cause, is to get involved in educational courses, get on a work detail, go to religious courses, and spent all the time available keeping busy in positive ways. Try to keep preoccupied and at the same time maintain less contact with the more violent or trouble making inmates. Keeping the mind and body busy will make time pass by quicker and help preserve your sanity.
An inmate should spend quality time with family or friends during visiting days. Try to remain focused on the joy of seeing and talking to loved ones. By not let visitors worry about things going on within the prison and the family not telling the inmate about things they cannot do anything about, the inmate and the family can rest a little easier and worry less. The inmate is already traumatized to one degree or another by the conditions in prison and unnecessary burden can only lead to deeper physiological scars in the long run.
No solution is 100% in the prison system. Things can change or go wrong in the blink of an eye but the inmate must make every effort to make the time as bearable as they can. Maintaining quiet and distance, whenever possible, along with trying to stay positive in mind and spirit are the best solutions an inmate can try to achieve.
Conclusion
Life in prison...
Inmates are there because they committed a crime or series of crimes and must be punished. The challenges faced by inmates can cause emotional, physical, and many other traumas that cannot be resolved easily. Haney (2001) states, "Prisoners typically are denied their basic privacy rights, and lose control over mundane aspects of their existence that most citizens have long taken for granted."
Inmates follow schedules everyday being told how they are to live, when to eat, when to sleep, when to get up, and when they have recreational time. Some inmates lose their self-worth in this environment and feel degraded.
To survive and overcome the challenge of the unknown, an inmate must partner with an inmate that understands the inner structure and how things work in the prison they are at. The inmate must remain silent and indifferent to the things that do not concern them. Self preservation is the key to maintain coming out of prison alive and with as little trauma as the inmate emotions can cope with.
This researcher concludes the best way to deal with these challenges and not have to worry about how to survive is to not get locked up in the first place.
References
Gil, R. (2009). Prison life in American Institutions. Retrieved on April 3, 2010 from ns.html?cat=17"
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2488106/prison_life_in_american_institutions.html?cat=17
Haney, Craig. (2001). The Psychological Impact of Incarceration:Implications for Post-
Prison Adjustment. Retrieved on April 3, 2010 from http://aspe.hhs.gov/HSP/prison2home02/Haney.htm
Man, C. & Cronan, J. (2001). Forecasting Sexual Abuse in Prison: The Prison Subculture of Masculinity as a Backdrop for "Deliberate Indifference." Journal of Criminal Law
and Criminology.
