Surviving prison, mentally, physically, and with your record intact, requires a set of skills and strategies that nobody teaches you before you go in. The adjustment is enormous, and how you handle the first days and weeks sets the tone for everything that follows. This section covers the practical realities of daily life inside a correctional facility, how to navigate the social environment without becoming a target or a participant in activities that will extend your sentence, how to protect your mental health during a long sentence, what the research shows about maintaining family connections and why they matter for survival, how to use the time productively rather than letting it use you, and what the people who come out strongest have in common. The guidance here comes from someone who served 66 months in the federal system and built a business around helping the people left behind. Do the time. Do not let the time do you. See also our sections on Prison Violence, Prison Discipline, and Re-entry and Rehabilitation.
Related InmateAid Services
Subject: Survive prison
The counselor is your best point of contact at the facility, and calling and asking to speak with them directly is the right first step.
That said, there is no guarantee that anything you share with facility staff stays completely confidential from your fiancé. Correctional facilities are not bound by the same confidentiality standards as therapists or attorneys. Staff communicate with each other about inmates and the people connected to them, and depending on what you share and how it gets...
Read moreSubject: Survive prison
NO smoking in just about every facility in the United States. Three days!?!?! Three days is a long time, we hope you survive. You might not get to go to commissary for a three day stay but you might put $50 on your books for phone calls.
Subject: Survive prison
It happens more than it should, and the motivation is almost always the same: someone facing their own charges decided that pointing a finger at a family member was worth it if it reduced their time. The system creates that incentive on purpose, and some people take it without a second thought about who they are burying in the process.
There is no crime more contemptible inside than bearing false witness against someone who trusted you. Anyone who has done real-time...
Read moreSubject: Survive prison
Chillicothe Correctional Center is a relatively modern facility housing around 1,300 women. Like all state prisons, the basics are minimal. Meals are institutional, sleeping quarters are sparse, and the schedule is tightly controlled. The hardest part of incarceration for most people is not the physical conditions but the boredom, the relentless sameness of days that blur into one another.
What sets Chillicothe apart from harder facilities is its programming. The institution offers a meaningful range of recreational, educational, and vocational options....
Read moreSubject: Survive prison
Four months?? That is nothing. You are scared because of the unknown, but this is going to be like "four months of adult camp", not prison. Most if not all inmates are not looking for trouble, they just want to go home too. Do not tell anyone you are only there for four months, short-timers can be targets because some inmate might be jealous you're leaving so soon. Make sure you have some money for commissary, it makes life bearable....
Read moreSubject: Survive prison
USP stands for United States Penitentiary. By definition, it is for maximum security inmates which means that all movement is controlled by the guards for set periods of time. There are one or two man cells. There are not near as many personal freedoms as you would find in the lower custody facilities. But, even in these strict, hard conditions the inmates seem to figure out the hierarchy of things and it truns into a little village where everyone just...
Read moreSubject: Survive prison
Not really. Most of the jailhouse violence you hear about is remote and isolated. It is not the norm. There are things of course that will change that quickly. If your son keeps to himself and internalizes his thoughts and actions he'll get out without as much as an argument.
Subject: Survive prison
No. Inmates do not know the other inmates charges unless they speak about them. Our strong advice is to keep your crime to your self as well as your out-date. Inmates that are trouble-makers will have their people on the outside research what they can find on certain inmates. They will use the information if the crime is something they do not "approve of".
Subject: Survive prison
the beds are thin and do not have much padding. there is nothing luxurious about the bedding. you might not get a pillow either. what i used to do was to collect several rolls of toilet paper and put them inside a towel to use as a pillow. there is heat is all facilities but many state prisons do NOT have air conditioning - especially bad in Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Arizona during the summer
Subject: Survive prison
it depends what type of person you are and how much time you are facing. is it months or is it years? where is it going to be served? resubmit your question with some more details about your situation.
Subject: Survive prison
You miss the freedom to do most any everyday chore. Starting with the morning wake-up, they turn the lights on at 6am. There is a set time to each, set time to shower, set time to have recreation... it's like you are a kindergarten child being led through the day completely supervised.
You miss having sex, being able to talk to your loved ones whenever you want, you miss their life as you only hear about it. Also, taking a shower...
Read moreSubject: Survive prison
of course, the loneliness is overwhelming sometimes. actually incarceration feels like you died but you are watching your life continue without you in it - seeing those on the outside go on with their lives and you are stuck in an ever-repeating day like the movie "Groundhog Day". Nothing really changes inside except the calander one day at a time.
Subject: Survive prison
This depends on the facility, the population limits and security level of the inmate. In most cases there are two-men to a cell. We have seen overcrowding where there are four men to a cell, where two of them sleep on the floor.
Subject: Survive prison
Yes, they are sold at the commissary or maybe acquired from another inmate that is leaving, or has more than one. They will barter the radio for commissary items of a specific value. It could be packets of tuna or ramen noodles, everything has a value.
Subject: Survive prison
The clothing question depends entirely on the specific facility. Every institution has its own rules about personal clothing. Some places issue uniforms from the start and your clothes get bagged and stored until release. Others allow inmates to keep certain personal clothing items like plain underwear or basic jeans that family can send in later. There is no universal answer until you know where you are going to do your time. Once your facility is confirmed, you can call directly...
Read more