I have known many instances where deep-seated anger and prolonged bitterness has driven men psychotic...
I'm sure there have been other factors in their lives that caused them to become mentally ill, too. But my feeling is that anger and bitterness have been big contributors.
Earlier today, an inmate who resides in the Intermediate Care Program's cell block was very agitated about something. When I came to work at 8:30 a.m., he was already carrying on and yelling.
Later on, when I had to pass in front of his cell, and as I stopped to say good morning to him, he tossed a cup of toilet water at me. I saw it coming, and I quickly sprang out of the way on reflex. But he ended up dousing another inmate who was just walking by and minding his business.
The man who got splashed is also mentally ill. He has a habit of walking in circles in front of the cells of the other prisoners, often in a daze. So, he was not able to duck in time.
The inmate who tossed the dirty water from his 12-ounce cup, however, wasn't really angry at me. He has a history, during his many years of incarceration, of suffering from delusions often followed by outbursts of anger.
Without daily doses of psychotropic drugs, some of the prisoners will begin to deteriorate emotionally, and then begin to get out of control.
I have had men scream curses at me, and even hiss at me while in their unmedicated and delusional state. It has been a challenge, I confess, to smile back and speak kindly to someone who just yelled every cuss word imaginable at me, sometimes mixed with spit and threats. Prisons are not happy places.
D.B.
Earlier today, an inmate who resides in the Intermediate Care Program's cell block was very agitated about something. When I came to work at 8:30 a.m., he was already carrying on and yelling.
Later on, when I had to pass in front of his cell, and as I stopped to say good morning to him, he tossed a cup of toilet water at me. I saw it coming, and I quickly sprang out of the way on reflex. But he ended up dousing another inmate who was just walking by and minding his business.
The man who got splashed is also mentally ill. He has a habit of walking in circles in front of the cells of the other prisoners, often in a daze. So, he was not able to duck in time.
The inmate who tossed the dirty water from his 12-ounce cup, however, wasn't really angry at me. He has a history, during his many years of incarceration, of suffering from delusions often followed by outbursts of anger.
Without daily doses of psychotropic drugs, some of the prisoners will begin to deteriorate emotionally, and then begin to get out of control.
I have had men scream curses at me, and even hiss at me while in their unmedicated and delusional state. It has been a challenge, I confess, to smile back and speak kindly to someone who just yelled every cuss word imaginable at me, sometimes mixed with spit and threats. Prisons are not happy places.
D.B.
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