The U Shaped Curve

If you are going to federal prison, learn how to master each stage of your journey.

Here is a snippet from a blog I wrote at www.WhiteCollarAdvice.com:

Stage 1 of 3: As you move down the U in stage 1, you will embrace the odd reality of leaving your community behind. You will focus on all that you are missing: your family, your toilet, sex, privacy, and your freedom. You may also spend days, as I did, obsessing about how you ended up in federal prison. It can be hard to accomplish clearly defined goals in stage 1—more on that later.

Stage 2: In time, however, you will begin to slowly adjust and become more comfortable with imprisonment. Most prisoners in stage 2 fall into a routine of table games, TV, and exercise. Generally, prisoners reach stage 2 when they are halfway done with their prison term. In other words, if your sentence is 24 months, you'll enter stage 2, or the bottom of the metaphorical U, at 12 months. Stage 3: Ascending the U! As you ascend the U in

Stage 3, your anxieties will return. This time, however, your anxieties don't have to do with leaving society. Your anxieties exist because you will soon be returning to society. By stage 3 you will have mastered and been conditioned to imprisonment. Rather than worrying about only spending $360 a month in the commissary (stage 1) or enjoying your four-hour exercise sessions (stage 2), the thoughts of bills, dealing with a probation officer, and rebuilding your life take over.