[WinterDave]

Has anyone ever thought that just being by themselves, alone in a cell, might be the easiest course in life? No options, or choices to make.Just sit in your cell with nothing but books to read, papers and pencils..Obviously prison life wouldn't be that nice, as Andy found out....But what about time at a Minimum Security Federal Institution if you could have a cell by yourself, no other prisoners trying to attack or exploit you etc...Just sitting in your cell, thinking, reading, writing, and pondering upon the mysteries of Life? Is a current life with SA so unlike that except for better food, cable TV, computer access, and not having to take a shower with other people? I kind of wonder what it would be like to have someone else in control of all the choices and responsibilities....Where your only job was to be quiet and not make trouble...The rest of the time, you were on your own, left to yourself and your own mental inventions....Just sit there and read all the books in the Prison Library..Naive and unrealistic of course, but would a life like that be more comfortable than now or less? If you are already serving time in "Solitary" what difference does some bars and walls make...Just something I was thinking about...What it would be like with no possibilities, choices, options, or responsibilities other than to just lay in a bunk, read, write, think, and sleep, for several years... :con
Wouldn't giving up on trying to change, improve, or be social, not unlike that? Just quietly going to a dull job, go home to a quiet apartment, read, surf the net, think, watch movies, listen to music....And just exist, with no higher goals or illusions than finishing the next book, or taking a nap...
Would acceptance of such a life be more peaceful than constantly failing to fit in with society? And is that life any different than prisoners in jail, elderly people that live alone, homeless people, people that live by themselvese in rural areas etc? Aren't a lot of people in some type of jail or solitary confinement? At what point, if any, should you stop trying to change, just come to terms with present, and except things for what they are, with little chance for change? Acceptance of what is, and passing the rest of life as quietly and comfortably as possible...With the great works of literature, history, art, and philosophy as your companions....

 

[Goran]

i would go into my cell with a smile on my face.

 

[ghostgurl]

Sounds like an ideal life to me. I wish I could life that way. Things would be so easier.

 

[tranquil_emotion]

Being in jail alone, I would go insane. Social anxiety to me is like more internal fears about myself. I think my personality has suffered a great deal to social anxiety, not getting to be who I am, solitary confinement would make that worse, I'd never find out who I am. I guess if you are someone that enjoys being alone, but if that was so true then the person wouldn't be bothered by society caring about them, we have social anxiety because we are worried people won't accept us, and we can't accept ourselves. If you truly want to be alone you wouldn't have SA to begin with, cause you wouldn't care and you'd accept yourself.

 

[cj]

I'd hate it. I hate feeling trapped, or confined. I love the outdoors, and find it helps my sanity to get out and work in the garden, go for a walk, hike and camp in the mountains with the clean air and nature all around me.

I also hate being told what to do and generally have a problem with authority figures. I want rationale behind decisions and want to be able to question why things are like they are. If something is not working - i want the freedom to change it.

No - it'd never be a life for me.

Now if i won the lottery - that would be the ultimate freedom - no more worries about money

 

[rice]

Your point about being able to accept where we are now without the guilt and feeling bad all the time about where we are now, sounds inviting. The recovery ideas about pushing myself out there, seem excrusiating at times..
Sometimes I will try to say that to myself - you're ok just where you are now - even if you haven't been in contact with anybody all day. But then I'm afraid I'll stay in that place forever.
How does that acceptance of where I am now fit into the acceptance recovery philosophy? It just seems to be saying accept where I am now - then push myself...ugh

 

[leppardess]

That would be hell for me. If my life was left up to someone else, to decide what I would or wouldn't do, have to sit in a cell 24/7 & not have free choice? Nope, I'd go insane in a situation like that, unable to go outside when I wanted to, unable to do what I wanted to do when I wanted to. Unable to see my friends when I wanted to, not able to go out, just for the sake of going out when I wanted to.

I carry my prison on the inside, don't need it outside too.

 

[SVIIC]

Is a current life with SA so unlike that except for better food, cable TV, computer access, and not having to take a shower with other people?

I was thinking, "Pfft. Okay, it's maybe an slightly interesting observation... but it's not really realistic at all..." until I read this...

Sadly, ****ing painfully sadly... you're right on this one :hide

We ARE in prison. Our minds are prisons that are not as easy to escape from as a mere physical jail :afr

 

[Frankie Mac]

That would be the most awesome thing in the world for me. Atleast now, I know I'm not the only one who feels that way.

 

[brokenlight]

I carry my prison on the inside, don't need it outside too.

That's a good point.

I think initially the "prison" idea sounds good. After a while of being on my own reading and spending so much time thinking, I would want to go out and use what I learned and experience some of the things I've thought about. I think what I would really want would be the freedom to go into my little cell whenever I wanted, stay there as long as I wanted, but then have the freedom to leave and rejoin the world when I was ready to be out there.

 

[r0ck0ut]

yea sounds real cool till you wake up one day 10 years later and realize you wasted half your life hiding in your house from the world.

 

[r0ck0ut]

sorry bout that fustrated.

 

[Bon1]

I'm in...........

 

[Elsa]

Like Tupac said:

"You ain't gotta be in jail to be doin' time."

 

[WinterDave]

I am sure that it would get very boring and frustrating very quickly, but it would be a fascinating experience for a brief time...To totally surrender your life, choices, and control to another person or institution....To have no responsibilities or options....Also, to know that you are equal, and like everyone else, who is also in the same boat as you....

Anything can be your whole world, or your prison...A room, a house, life in a real prison, a tour on a naval vessel....Three or six months at sea on a ship....I like that quote from Shawshank Redemption about how being in a prison long enough, and the walls become your friend...A real phenomena called Institutionalization where you are so used to a known and controlled environment, being told what to do and when, that you are no longer able to function outside of it....It happens to people that have been in prisons or psychiatric facilities for many years...They are no longer able to function on their own in the "Real" world....

 

[murderedpsyche]

Something like this would be interesting, but i'd rather have it in a cottage out in the wilderness. Everything i wanted and needed would still be supplied to me, but i would spend a lot of time out in the wild enjoying the fresh pure air away from people, the i could return to my cabin and make my art undisturbed. That would be my heaven.

 

[Stranger]

I have actually worked in several prisons as a correctional nurse (my husband at the time made me quit) and I have to say, I did find myself envying those guys sometimes. They sure didn't have to worry about who was going to pay their light bill or whether they'd get fed. And they seemed to be able to find more penpals than I have ever been able to find, and I'm not a convicted criminal! :afr Go figure on that one. But being told when to eat, when to sleep, having routine body cavity searches. . . . trust me, it gets old. I have found maybe one or two old convicts in my whole career in corrections who enjoyed the convict life and intended to make sure they got to stay that way. Think about something- if you had gotten locked up for a crime when you were about 19 years old and then were about to be released back into the world where you'd have responsibilities all of a sudden and no job skills, at age 40+, you can see why many convicts are perfectly content to stay put. But for the most part they are just dying to get out and be a part of the 'real' world. It's the restrictions that suck. Well, that and the predators that are in there.

 

[Lostsoul]

WinterDave when I younger I shared the same kinda idea as you. Solitary confinement prison wouldn't be that bad I used to think. Like the very first american prisons: they used to lock people up in a cell with nothing but a bible. No human contact whatsoever. I thought that wouldn't too bad.

I think SAD people are introverts anyway. I could handle solitary confinement but the bottom line is I like having choices in my life. Being confined I would start to dig for a way out! Even though there are bad times I try not to lose hope.

Our minds are prisons agreed.

 

[Hannah]

that's all good until they introduce you to your cellmate 'Butch' who won't stop blowing you kisses and winking

a jail cell, no way, i need to have access to the outdoors and would feel clausterphobic. but i like what someone earlier suggested, a cottage in the country somewhere. i remember being a kid watching gorillas in the mist and thought that sigourney's character had the living quarters ever. that is until the end of the movie. i also used to think about jumping on a cargo car of a train (like a hobo) and travelling cross country that way. fantasized about that alot actually.

 

[cj]

I am sure that it would get very boring and frustrating very quickly, but it would be a fascinating experience for a brief time...To totally surrender your life, choices, and control to another person or institution....To have no responsibilities or options....Also, to know that you are equal, and like everyone else, who is also in the same boat as you....

I know a woman looking for a sex slave Dave: All you got to do is just be there - no choise, or control - but watch out if you don't behave!!! :lol