By Lucy Gleysteen
From PHN Issue 29, Summer 2016
Painful emotions can sometimes feel unmanageable. If you are feeling an emotional crisis and don’t have someone to reach out to, you may want to shift your emotional state to something that feels more tolerable. Writing can act as one of the building blocks towards creating a degree of emotional safety for yourself. Continue reading “Writing to Heal”
By Thomas Michael Simmons, IPE
From PHN Issue 29, Summer 2016
Grief is a normal and natural experience that often involves powerful feelings—a reaction to significant emotional loss. Traumas such as catastrophic illness, job loss, divorce, abuse, harassment, amputation, injury, rape, and death of a loved one can trigger a process that brings intense anguish. Despite its inevitability, most are unprepared for its roller coaster ride of shock, anxiety, isolation, numbness, confusion, depression, anger, sadness, irritability, and sense of emptiness. Concentration is lost, eating and sleeping patterns shot. A world once familiar is now foreign and hostile to us. Yet, tomorrow still comes. Continue reading “Finding Solace”
by Suzy Subways
From PHN Issue 29, Summer 2016
Did you know some laws make punishments much harsher if you are living with HIV? In Pennsylvania, if someone in prison is convicted of spitting on a guard, 10 years can be added to their sentence if they have HIV. Many states have similar laws. Do you think that’s fair? Continue reading “Making Sure HIV Isn’t Treated Like a Crime”
By Philadelphia FIGHT’s Project TEACH Team
From PHN Issue 29, Summer 2016
All HIV medications have side effects, but most of them are manageable. Since you can’t always get the high quality health care you deserve in prison, here are some tips to help. Continue reading “Managing HIV Medication Side Effects”
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”
By Robert Andrew Bartlett, Sr.
From PHN Issue 28, Spring 2016
An incarcerated person is not required to sign anything. When a person in prison seeks medical care, the same rules apply as in other situations involving important legal rights. Don’t sign any document without first reading it carefully. Then sign it only if it benefits you. Trust no one who works for the prison system. Continue reading “Read It First”
By Brother W. (Uthman) Williams
From PHN Issue 28, Spring 2016
The New York State prison health care system has been broken for a long time now. In 1977, women incarcerated in New York brought civil rights claims challenging medical care. Chief Judge Kaufman responded: “The sad often desperate plight of many incarcerated in our nation’s prisons is most dramatically revealed by the all too frequent petitions of inmates who have been denied access to basic medical services.” Continue reading “Fight For Your Medical Rights!”
by Mrs. Ge Ge
From PHN Issue 28, Spring 2016
Hello friends,
My name is Mrs. Ge Ge. I am a trans woman incarcerated in PA. I am also the founder of an LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender–plus) organization called L.I.G.H.T. We aim to educate readers about DOC policies that protect them, laws, health and politics. We use this information to strengthen our ability to fight the prison industrial complex, by using its own policies against it. I am writing simply to spread some knowledge on how to get gender affirming health care in prison. There are several useful tools you can use to accomplish this. I will list some addresses at the end of this article. Continue reading “Accessing Gender-Affirming Health Care in Prison”
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”
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”
Prison Health News 