Being in prison may seem like a nightmare to most prisoners. They may feel that they are living the worst phase of their lives. It is natural for them to feel miserable and have the urge to blame other people. However, this attitude is unproductive and will not help you survive inside the correctional. You need to deal with and control your emotions, attitude, and behavior and turn your attention to productive activities.
Acceptance is the Key to Freedom
An important key on how to survive in a Maine Department of Correction is to accept the fact that you violated the law and being in jail is a punishment for what you have done. Accepting why you are in prison will somehow give you some kind of peace of mind.
Not accepting will make you resentful of your present condition and affect your attitude and behavior while inside. It is best to accept this and use your time on thoughts and behavior that will make your adjustment inside the correctional easier.
Keep Your Emotions To Yourself
Though prisoners look and act tough, they still have emotions. There are times when you feel sad, depressed and confused and have the urge to share your emotions. However, you must take care and not be misled by appearances.
A correctional institution is not a friendly place to live in. Some inmates look nice, but they are not. Sharing one’s sadness, anxiety, joy, fear and anger with fellow inmates will give clues which they could use against you. In this way, a prison is definitely a lonely place as well.
However, expressing yourself to somebody helps. Look for an inmate who shares the same views as you do and cultivate this friendship in a careful way. Having a trusted friend inside may prove beneficial for both where you exchange ideas and do productive activities together. You can also take advantage of counseling services if that is made available.
Maintain Contact with Friends and Family
If you feel the need to share your emotions, the best way to do it is to write letters to friends and family members. Prisoners are not allowed to use computers and send emails, but handwritten letters are permissible. Anyway, you can best share your emotions and sincerity through handwritten letters. You may call your family and friends to share how you are feeling. Correctional institutions in Maine allow a maximum of 15 minutes of phone calls per day.
In general, writing letters and making phone calls will help you stay connected with people outside of prison. Connecting with family and friends is another way to how to survive in a Maine Department of Correction. Further, connecting with families and friends will also help them.
Your family suffers in the same way as you do because of separation. Your family has lost a significant person. By maintaining contact, you can still give them your love, support, and the assurance that you are still there for them. Show your interest in what is going on in their lives and tell them how you are inside, skipping those details that will make your family worry, of course.
Have Hope
It is important that prisoners who want to know how to survive in a Maine Department of Correction learn to hold on to their hope, dreams and plans for the future. Hope gives you the will to survive prison life and dreams are something to look forward to. Plan and prepare for the time you complete your time and reenter the community.
Keep Learning
Read and enrich your brain, keep yourself healthy through healthy food and physical exercise, prepare yourself by examining what skills you have and register in a training program the correctional offers. Stay away from situations that will get you into trouble.
Avoid Illegal Activities
Getting involved with illegal activities, such as gambling and drugs will get you into trouble with prison officials and fellow inmates. These activities will endanger your chances of parole. Stay away from alcohol and illegal drugs if you plan to stay healthy until the day you unite with your family again.
Develop Your Instincts and Awareness
Develop an instinct that would spot situations that lead to potential trouble. The general population is a hotspot for trouble, what with the different personalities of toughened inmates that fill the correctional. When you do find potential trouble, leave the vicinity immediately but slowly so as not to catch attention to yourself. In fact, stay away from the general population whenever you can.
Get Involved in Reformation Programs
Another great way of surviving in the Maine department of corrections is to get involved with programs that keep you busy. These also prepare you for your life after prison. The correctional offers community reconstruction program, academic classes, vocational training, learning new skills, life improvement training, and counseling programs to prisoners.
These programs prepare you emotionally, mentally and physically for reentry into the community. Further, these training and programs make sure that your chances of going back to prison are reduced significantly.
Prisoners may need to take qualifying interviews or exams. For programs that require a fee, do not hesitate to ask for financial assistance from family and friends.
Manage Your Idle Time
What you have inside the correctional is idle time. By keeping yourself busy, you keep yourself safe. Volunteer or apply for jobs in prison.
You could volunteer in prison hospitals, clinics, library, and help in workshops. The correctional accepts volunteers for a few designated hours. The time that you spend volunteering can benefit you by learning; it also makes you look good before prison officers.
Further, there are jobs offered to prisoners such as carpentry, labor jobs, and admin jobs. The salary for these types of jobs may be lower than the average pay outside prison but having a job in prison gives you a sense of responsibility. You could use these earnings to register in programs that require fees, buy healthy food not available in the prison canteen/cafeteria, and to purchase your basic needs.
Being in a correctional is tough but you can control the situation inside. Keep in mind that your time will pass and will someday end. Stay focused on what lies and waits for you beyond the walls. These thoughts will keep you motivated to work for an early release, and survive the time you have to spend inside the correctional.
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