Mental Health Crisis Deepens in Prison

 The coronavirus pandemic has caused a global mental health crisis. For total institutions like prisons, where mental health issues are prevalent already, the pandemic has only worsened matters. A significant number of prisoners suffer from mental health issues. These issues include schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, depression, antisocial attitudes, and a host of other mental health challenges. 

Furthermore, many mentally healthy prisoners who spend a decade or more in prison often suffer from some level of institutionalization, another mental health challenge. Isolation, constant stress from the environment, lack of purpose, rigid routines, and many other of prison's normal features lead to institutionalization. 

Since the pandemic has hit prison systems, contributors to poor mental health have increased drastically. Cancelled classes and activities, lack of access to religious communities, rigid enforcement of social isolation, weekly virus testing, schedule disruptions, lack of administrative communication, seemingly random rule changes, and very poor crisis management have only worsened prisoner anxieties. Living in prison is stressful enough, but when a crisis like the pandemic adds immeasurable stressors, prisoners' mental health suffer. 

Recent increases in testing, using the notoriously inaccurate 15-minute rapid test, has only heightened prisoner anxieties. Now, prisoners are tested daily (at some facilities) because of the presence of the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant. While most prisoners who test positive have no symptoms, they, and anyone who was "close contact" with them, are placed in isolation for two weeks. Close contacts include anyone with whom the infected prisoner spent 15-minutes or more in the prior 48 hours before testing (verified by video surveillance). Since prison is a crowded place, close contact is inevitable for most prisoners. 

While this close contact policy intends to limit the spread of the virus, it is causing significant mental health challenges for prisoners. Anxiety over being "snatched up" and isolated causes prisoners to socially isolate as prevention. Isolation, while helpful for preventing the spread of a virus, only deepens the poor mental health from which many prisoners already suffer. 

Living in constant fear or anxiety is counterproductive to good mental health. Staying in close communication with your incarcerated loved one through emails, letters, and phone calls can help to limit the long-term effects of these mental health challenges. Since anxiety and fear are often caused by the unknown and by anticipation of what MIGHT happen, it may help to encourage your incarcerated loved one to cultivate a positive outlook that sees these challenges as temporary. Acknowledge prisoners' realities, but encourage positive mental focuses. Prayer and meditation also helps. 

A positive mental focus is good for prisoners, regardless of pandemic stress, but until the pandemic passes and personal visits, classes, and social activities resume for prisoners, you might be the only thing keeping your incarcerated loved one from losing his or her mind.