Being incarcerated in a prison is horrible, but what’s much worse is being in solitary confinement, one which is commonly referred to as prison inside of prison, a place where you are completely shut out of the world and locked up for about 23 hours in a day with the remaining one hour for taking your bath or making a phone call.

Solitary confinement is not a position you would want to be in, however, if you are already held up in such confinement, hope is not lost as you can still pull through.

Here are ten tips for surviving long term solitary confinement.

1. STRESS MANAGEMENT IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT: 

The prison is in itself stressful much less being in solitary confinement. The stress that comes with being held up in a long term solitary confinement can drive you nuts, therefore it is important to identify the things that contribute to stressing you out and avoid them.

You can get your mind off these things by engaging in routine exercise, regular meditation, reading, or whatever takes your mind off your current situation and keeps you relaxed. Keeping a cool head in solitary confinement is one way to survive.

2. MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT:

It hasn’t been said better than this, minding your business is key to surviving in long term solitary confinement.

In the prison, you have different people from different races with different criminal records ranging from robbery, drug trafficking, murder and so on.

Here, you have the notorious gangsters and thugs who will mostly engage in negativity, so it would be best to keep your distance from such people as socializing with such people can paint the wrong impression on you to prison guards.

Know that you’re constantly being watched in solitary confinement, and any person you socialize with while being escorted by prison guards in that one hour of recreation would be taken note of and reported to the prison authorities.

The authorities will in turn decide whether or not to remove you from solitary confinement based on your record. Therefore, be careful with whom you associate with, as you can be mistaken for a gangster as a result of your association with gangsters.

Once tagged a “security concern” by prison officials, you will lose your chance from coming out of solitary confinement.

You should also under no condition snitch on other inmates even when you are a witness to the illegalities carried out by some notorious gang members. When you see such illegalities, turn your face elsewhere and mind your business.

3. IDLE TIME IS YOUR ENEMY IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT:

Keep yourself busy, get yourself engaged with something! One way to live through long term solitary confinement is to find something that relieves you from stress, boredom, and mental breakdown.

Find a hobby or engage in activities like exercising, reading, writing, playing chess, etc.

Do not allow your brain to dwell on negative thoughts, but constantly sharpen it through positivity by acquiring new knowledge from books. You now have enough time why not use it to read!

4. SPIRITUAL STRENGTH IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT:

Whichever religion you practice, in it lies spiritual strength that can help you survive through long term solitary confinement.

You can read the Bible or Quran for instance to draw out strength or support in trying times. Verses in the Bible like: “I am with you even till the end of time,” or ” I am a very present help in time of need.” Helps to give you that reassuring hope that you’re not alone.

5. FAMILY TIES IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT:

It is a good thing solitary confinement does not restrict you from bonding with family members.

Make use of your one hour free time to communicate more with family and friends which provides an avenue to share your experience, problems and learn new developments in the outside world. Talking to someone, most especially a loved one is a source of strength.

6. BE RESPECTFUL IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT:

Because you don’t like the prison environment does not mean you should go around disrespecting others including yourself. Accept your current situation, and find ways to make good use if not the best out of it.

Talk to people with respect, smile even when pushed to anger and as much as possible be polite. 

7. CHECK YOURSELF IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT:

Solitary confinement gives you an opportunity to reflect on yourself. Use that time to work on any of your flaws be it in character, actions, words from your mouth, etc. And try to make amends to become even better.

8. KNOW THY RIGHTS IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

In as much as you were sentenced to prison by the laws of the constitution, it is also important to have a grasp of your constitutional rights and prison rights so you don’t get taken for a ride by wardens.

When you’re equipped with the knowledge of your constitutional rights, you can fight back legally when your rights are violated or why they try to mistreat you.

9. WATCH WHAT YOU EAT IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

Solitary confinement is not also a license to eat anyhow to relieve stress, however, you should be selective of the food you eat and avoid eating junk.

Do everything in moderation else, you risk causing more harm to your mental health and physical health because officials won’t really pay attention to you when you’re ill until it’s a near death situation.

10. ASK FOR HELP IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT:

Don’t die in silence, ask for help! If you’re going through a difficult time and you act as if everything is okay, you may be able to keep it up for sometime before you totally break down which can be very devastating.

Talk to the prison psychologists or a friend, family member telling them areas where you need support and what kind of assistance they can offer you.

Surviving solitary confinement

Surviving solitary confinement is an experience most inmates hate to remember. Solitary confinement is linked to one of the major cuases of depression and Post-Incarceration Disorder among inmates.

how to survive solitary confinement

An inmate who hopes to survive solitary confinement will need to keep their mental health in check by participating in book exchange programs or reading anything they can lay hands on.

If an inmate is not allowed to receive books from their loved ones or request for novels from the library, they can request for documents related to their Charter of rights. These cannot be denied an inmate, irrespective of the isolation circumstance.

how long can you survive in solitary confinement

The duration for solitary confinement survival completely depends on the mental strength of an inmate, and their willpower to make it through the finish line.

Can you survive solitary confinement

Almost anyone can survive solitary confinement. If possible, ask your loved ones to send you letters repeatedly. This will help keep your mental health engaged, and fuel your motivation.

How To Get Out Of Solitary Confinement In jail

To get out of solitary confinement, and inmate will need to request for a transfer to the general pod. Upon review of the transfer, a caseworker will determine if an inmate will be a good fit in the GP unit.

Are Inmates In Solitary Confinement Allowed To Exercise?

All inmates in incarceration facilities are allowed some recreational time for exercises. Depending on the facility, an inmate may be allowed between fifteen minutes to one hour for exercises.

Refusing an inmate their right to exercise is a violation of their rights. Inmates have rights too.