Virus Intensifies Already Stressful Prison Environment

It's another week in enhanced isolation. The normal isolation of prison is bad enough, but add on top of that the increased isolation caused by the coronavirus, and it feels like a bad dream from which we can't awaken. So far, MTU, the prison where I am housed, has avoided the virus, but administrative staff, officers, and prisoners are on edge. The virus has continued to sweep through other prisons, leaving death and chaos in its wake. The restrictions at these and other prisons are similar to level five restrictions, with almost no prisoner movement. All activities are cancelled, including religious services and schooling, and prisoners are largely restricted to their cells. While that reality has not yet hit MTU, many of us fear it is only a matter of time. 

We have been required to wear masks for several months now, everywhere we go except while we shower or eat. Social distancing, even at a prison that is not on lockdown, makes it difficult to connect with people we normally hang out with on yard or at school. On the news I hear some people complaining about having to wear masks to shop or work, but we have to wear them all the time. We have no choice. 

What's more, we are severely isolated in prison. While prison is meant to isolate law-breakers from society, studies have shown that maintaining social connections with family and (law-abiding) friends outside of prison is critical for the mental health and well-being of prisoners. These studies also show how critical these social connections are for reducing re-offense rates. Because of the virus restrictions, prisoners are unable to visit with loved ones, except over the phone. Many prisoners and their families cannot afford regular phone calls, further exacerbating feelings of isolation. Other factors, like college or trades schooling, addiction support groups, and religious services, are also either limited or eliminated during this pandemic, further reducing prisoners' rehabilitation tools. 

Because prison is such a boring existence, prisoners count on spending energy on yard, attending school or vocational trades, working prison jobs, and social interaction with other prisoners to pass time. The more social restrictions imposed on prisoners, at some prisons even isolation to cells, the greater the level of stress prisoners experience. When prisoners experience high levels of stress, tensions rise between prisoners and between prisoners and staff. 

Additionally, corrections officers experience stress of their own with the complications the coronavirus brings to their lives. As they encounter prisoners who are acting out because of their own stress, the officers' stressed out responses combine with the prisoners' stress to create tense hostility, sometimes leading to heated verbal exchanges and prisoner discipline. 

I don't know what the answer is. We all have to deal with added stress from this virus, both inside and outside of prison. I simply highlight the added stressors of prison because this is my current reality. As the saying goes, "this too shall pass," but in the meantime, life in prison is increasingly complicated and stressful.