Mental Health Consequences of Criminal Justice System Involvement and Self-Knowledge

Mental Health Consequences of Criminal Justice System Involvement and Self-Knowledge

Name the Feeling

Without any doubt, It is very hard emotionally and psychologically to have criminal charges. The experience is commonly stressful and traumatic: the arrest, being incarcerated, the impact on your family, the perception of stigma, and having feelings of shame and guilt. The following essay will let you know that the feelings you have dealing with the criminal justice system are normal and that you are not alone. The first step to healing and growth from this is to become sensitive to these feelings and name them in yourself. By being aware of your own experience, you can give it language and therefore control it: name it to tame it.

The Arrest

Being arrested is very scary. It is jarring and often marks a rupture in your life: there was the time before, and now there is the time after. Police officers are intimidating and the arrest may have included times that you felt like your life or well-being was threatened. You may have been physically hurt. It can be hard to feel safe in the world after an event like that. Being handcuffed is a moment of physical vulnerability that coincides with the psychic moment of harm. The experience can lead to intrusive memories that pop up in your mind and disturb you. It may have also felt humiliating and felt like you lost your dignity. The painful glare is all the worse if the arrest draws the attention of others or the media.

Incarceration

Being incarcerated is a trauma. Jails and prisons are not safe places and there are many sources of danger. Can you ever feel safe when you have no control over what you do and where you go? When you are always surrounded by other persons who may or may not have committed serious crimes? Absolutely not. You likely feltl scared, helpless, and hopeless. After you were released, you may still have nightmares, feel angry, or feel “on edge”. A person who is incarcerated will feel a sense of degradation and deprivation of their humanity. MDC in particular has a terrible reputation due to multiple inmate deaths and staffing problems. Shortages of corrections officers mean that inmates are simply left in the cells with only the most sporadic of breaks. Being on “lock-down” 23-7 is a violation of human rights and we know that such maltreatment has powerful negative psychological effects.  

Impact on Your Family

Being involved in the justice system is hard for you, and hard for your family. You may have had a long separation from your family. This can be difficult- especially if you have children. The uncertainty of a legal case is very stressful on families as they are not sure if they will be separated from you again. It is especially hard on young children who don’t understand what is happening or why you went away. You may feel like you have to be strong for them – even if you are feeling scared yourself. You may become alienated from your family- possibly by order of the court, possibly by their choice to cut you off. Losing the people closest to you takes a terrible toll. 

Social Stigma

Let’s face it, society can be very unkind to people who have been arrested or convicted of a crime. There is a lot of stigma, or negative beliefs about people who are charged with crimes. Society doesn’t understand that one bad choice (or being unfairly accused or just in a bad situation) does not make you a bad person. It is hard to feel judged by people who don’t understand. Going through life perceiving a negative glare from others is exhausting and alienating.

Shame

Shame is the painful feeling of thinking there is something wrong with us and we don’t deserve love, belonging, and connection. Feeling shame can make us feel very alone. Shame can make people very sad and want to drink, take drugs, or do something else to make the bad feeling go away. Psychological research reveals that shame is a harmful emotion and the act of causing another shame helps no one. 

Guilt

We experience guilt when we feel like we didn’t live up to our own expectations for ourselves (or our family’s expectations for us)  and it can motivate us to set things right, such as apologizing to the people that we hurt. Guilt doesn’t feel good, but it can be a helpful feeling because it can motivate us to make positive changes in life.

Self-Knowledge

The most powerful and first step toward healing is recognizing our emotions and what causes those feelings. Without that awareness we are subject to those emotions and can never truly be free. Persons who avoid their feelings, guard against them, or pretend that they don’t have them will find that they are nevertheless ruled by them in both predictable and unexpected ways. Know thyself is the commandment of ancient philosophers and it is true for us today. The feelings and experiences I described above are real and must be acknowledged.

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