30 Things That Are Never The Same After Being In Prison
By Anna Collins
6 months ago
1. You'll always be seen as a criminal!
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Once you've been behind bars there's nothing you can do to shake the overriding label of 'criminal'. No matter what else you are, or what kind of person you really are, it follows you around forever. Even if you go on to find success, you're marred forever by your criminal status.2. Finding a job can feel impossible
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There are not many jobs in the world that do not care whether you are a criminal or not. In fact, on the majority of job applications, one of the boxes you have to fill out is whether you've had a criminal record. It can feel totally impossible and there really aren't many career choices you can make after being inside.3. You'll always be negatively stereotyped
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One of the hardest realities to face after rejoining the outside is that people shun you. Some of it comes from fear, others from judgment and their perception of criminals. But something that is never the same after being in prison is how people react towards you and it can be very isolating.4. Having personal space is never taken for granted again
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Personal space is one of those things that after being in prison, just never gets old. Being able to pee in a bathroom with a closed door and nobody around, or being able to sleep without hundreds of people being so close to you is something that you never take for granted again.5. Finding love is harder than ever
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Finding love after prison can be extremely daunting. Because there's the seriously big elephant in the room 'Hey so, I just wanted to let you know I was in prison!' You can imagine how people receive it! And saying it too early can scare people away but hiding it isn't an option!6. People avoid you like you're dangerous
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No matter what crime you've committed, whether it was super serious or much more minor, people will still view you as dangerous. If someone knows you've been in prison then a natural response is to be wary and keep out of your way which can be really difficult to come to terms with.7. Freedom never felt so good
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Prison strips away your freedom, that's the entire point. So when you're reintegrated with the real world you suddenly have an abundance of freedom. It can actually be overwhelming to start with and you'll never overlook the importance of freedom and independence again.8. You'll always face discrimination
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As an ex-prisoner, it's inevitable that you're going to face discrimination. Whether it's in your personal life, career, or even visiting certain countries you are going to always face prejudice. Some countries will not allow you to enter if you even have a criminal record!9. You're always on guard, looking over your shoulder
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If being in prison teaches you anything, it's that you're never fully safe. You always have to watch over your shoulder to make sure that you're not in a vulnerable position. And you take this with you to the outside world, and even for the rest of your life! You never feel fully safe again.10. Trusting people will always be hard
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Trusting people after being in prison can feel truly impossible. And although these guards may come down slightly, trusting people will never be the same again. It will always be difficult, and there'll always be that part of you waiting for somebody to let you down!11. You have to start again from nothing!
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No matter what you achieved before being locked away, all of that is stripped away. You lose your job, and sometimes your assets. You lose a lot of your friends and certainly your acquaintances. You have to start from scratch, only this time around it is much harder.12. Feeling like you've lost who you really are
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Other people view an ex-prisoner with one identity... 'criminal'. And for that person too it is very hard to find their identity. Their identity before prison was massively changed when they became an inmate. Then their identity in prison changes hugely on the outside. But it's hard to know who they are anymore.13. You may struggle to find the positives in how you see the world
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After being in prison another thing that will never be the same again is the way you see the world. As someone who has seen a life of crime, and a life behind bars, you can never have a rosy kind of worldview again. Instead, you see the horrors and the dangers much more prominently than the good.14. Privacy will forever be appreciated
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Privacy... a word that doesn't even exist in jail. Privacy is completely taken away inside prison and it's not allowed for safety purposes. So after someone is released, privacy is appreciated in a whole new way, a way that couldn't be understood until you've had it stripped away entirely and given back to you.15. Integrating into the real world never feels easy again
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Integration is one of the hardest parts. Imagine going from a cell with criminals and a 24/7 strict regime to the outdoor world. In both ways, you're left to fend for yourself, but on the outside, you now have to reintegrate into polite society again after living toe to toe with prisoners.16. You could be a social outcast
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The social stigma is one of the hardest elements about prison, and one of the reasons why some prisoners re-offend, is because they never really have a true opportunity to join the world again without the stigma affecting their chances. And no matter how long you've been out of prison, the stigma still sticks!17. Having your own money will always be appreciated
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Having money and being able to use it at your will is one of the things that prisoners love when they come out. It's also something that never gets old. Being able to go to the grocery store for example sounds so simple, yet it's the ability to pick what you like and be able to pay that's a blessing18. You realize who abandoned you and who stuck around
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Relationships will NEVER be the same after prison. Some will be strengthened by knowing who stuck around you in your lowest moments. Others will be broken forever when you realize they abandoned you after being branded a criminal. But they'll all be changed forever.19. The sky will always be even more beautiful
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One of the things that prisoners miss the most is seeing the open sky. Even prisoners who get time outside only see the sky through the high barriers, they never get to see the sky out in the open and feel the air and sun on their faces. The appreciation for this will never fade again.20. A sense of fear will always linger
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Prison life inevitably instills fear in criminals because you could be sharing a space with a notorious, dangerous criminal and you're never fully safe. You have to be on constant alert, and that fear can never leave you. There's also the fear of re-incarceration which can haunt you.21. Some of your rights are taken away forever
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It's not only in resin that you lose rights. In some jurisdictions, ex-prisoners cannot vote and there are other repercussions on the outside world in which some of your rights are taken away. These can never come back, no matter how much you may try to prove yourself changed.22. Dangerous prison habits are hard to drop
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How you lived before prison, how you loved during, and then how you lived after prison are three separate things entirely. After release, you'll realize that you've adopted some habits whilst inside that are very hard to drop. Some of these habits definitely won't suit the outside world!23. Learning appropriate behavior takes a long time
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Some of the behavior in prison is super inappropriate for the outside world. Even the language that prisoners use isn't suitable for socialization on the outside. And the way that they look after themselves or treat people has to adjust a lot when a prisoner is released!24. It's a constant decision whether to keep it a secret or to tell people and risk losing them
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As an ex-prisoner, the ideal situation would be to re-integrate as a normal civilian without being tarred by your new 'criminal' label. But crime has lifelong consequences. And you then have the decision every time, about when to tell people that you were once in jail which brings up the unavoidable 'why? what did you do!?'25. You have a much more pessimistic view
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If you were involved in crime then realistically your life probably wasn't so idealistic, to begin with. But after prison, your view may be completely pessimistic as you have seen the worst of the worst situations and these are things you can never forget or take away from how you view things.26. You never forget the trauma
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A person is a trauma, no matter who you are or how tough you are. You're in an unnatural environment like a caged animal, surrounded by prisoners. It's traumatic and this kind of trauma is something that will always stay with you and may rear its ugly head in the moments you least expect.27. Food will always feel like a privilege
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Food. Something prisoners don't get a lot of and certainly don't get a choice about. Indulge in your favorite foods is undeniably one of life's pleasures. In prison, food is about sustenance and that's it. So outside, food will feel like a total privilege and always will do.28. After suppressing emotions in prison, it can be hard to change
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Prison really isn't the kind of place where you can be emotionally vulnerable and openly express your emotions. If you do this in prison it can lead to an even more unbearable time as other prisoners exploit this. After suppressing emotions so much, it always feels hard to express them.29. Your priorities will change forever after prison
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Priorities take a huge shift after prison and never go back to the way they were prior. The trivial matters that used to worry someone seemed very unimportant after prison. Instead, getting life back on track, forming relationships, and setting up on your own two feet are priorities.30. Nightmares will always haunt you
