Surviving Your Stay in Solitary Confinement

By Russell Auguillard

From PHN Issue 29, Summer 2016

My days consist of reading, exercising, writing, studying criminal and civil law, working on my case, studying medical periodicals as well as other studies, and watching television programs. With these particular routines, I manage to basically keep myself occupied. Yes, of course, doing the same thing all the time has a tendency to get boring. But when it comes to that point, you can do the same thing but switch it up. Continue reading “Surviving Your Stay in Solitary Confinement” →

Mental Health Journaling

by Anonymous

From PHN Issue 28, Spring 2016

There are many ways to keep a journal. Because your journal is your own, you can set the guidelines of what it will be. You can use a blank notebook for your journal, or you can keep some blank pages together. Whatever way you choose to keep your own journal is the right way to do it. Continue reading “Mental Health Journaling” →

Burpees: An Exercise for Stamina

by Corey Crawford

From PHN Issue 27, Winter 2016

One thing we have more of inside than out is time. We need to use it wisely; exercising is one way to do that.

Exercise gets the blood circulating, which in turn spreads oxygen to the body’s cells, keeping them fresh and healthy. Continue reading “Burpees: An Exercise for Stamina” →

Getting from Monday to Tuesday: Coping with Long-term Incarceration

By Patrice L. Daniels

From PHN Issue 25, Summer 2015

Knowledge of Self: A better understanding of who I am (and am not) has given me a sense of security and confidence when facing whatever life throws at me—as well as whatever I decide to embark upon. Continue reading “Getting from Monday to Tuesday: Coping with Long-term Incarceration” →

Presentation

by Fatima Malika Shabazz

From PHN Issue 24, Spring 2015

My name is Fatima Malika Shabazz. I am an African American transwoman currently incarcerated in the gulags of California. It is great that we can get feminizing hormone treatments in the system now. But there is still the problem of presentation. That is, being able to present every day as a woman, beyond the breast growth that comes along with being on hormones. Continue reading “Presentation” →

Is There Any Help for My OCD?

By Dean Stone

From PHN Issue 21, Summer 2014

If I had one nickel for every time I heard of someone here in prison having some odd behaviors or being labeled OCD, I’d be able to afford that crack team of lawyers who would get me out of here. But recent articles and books indicate that a great deal of progress in treating OCD can occur even without intensive psychotherapy or medication. People in prison have the opportunity to use the four-step treatment method outlined by Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz in his book, Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior. Continue reading “Is There Any Help for My OCD?” →

Prison SMART: Using Breath to Manage Stress

by Jeanine Campbell

From PHN Issue 18, Fall 2013

Prison Stress Management and Rehabilitation Training (Prison SMART) is a simple program that teaches a breathing technique designed to reduce stress, heal past trauma, and provide ways to handle negative emotions such as anger, guilt, and frustration. Started by the International Association for Human Values (IAHV), Prison SMART is active in prisons in over 36 countries and in 30 state, county, and federal correctional institutions across the U.S. The program is also adapted for correctional staff, the formerly incarcerated, and people in halfway houses, on parole or probation, and in juvenile justice programs. Continue reading →

Prison Yoga

by Jeanine Campbell

From PHN Issue 17, Summer 2013

The Prison Yoga Project is an organization based in California that seeks to establish yoga and mindfulness meditation programs in prisons and rehabilitation centers across the United States. They give trainings for yoga instructors interested in starting yoga programs in prisons, and have established over 20 prison yoga programs in correctional facilities across the country. Continue reading “Prison Yoga” →