20 Habits People Have Because They Have Been In Jail, Shared In This Online Group

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Hate the sin and not the sinner.” Although we don’t often practice this because there is a belief instilled inside us that people don’t change easily. We hate criminals and feel that all those people who have been in prison are bad people and will always remain bad people.

However, people do change – sometimes, the transformation is so big that you won’t even recognize that it’s the same person. Our habits, environment, and lifestyle shape the way we present ourselves to the world. Thus, a change in surroundings might induce a change in one’s behavior.

Prisoners often have to follow strict rules in jail, which results in the formation of new habits. When a Reddit user youknowyoulick asked “people who have been in jail, what habits do you still do today that you learned from being in lockup?”, many people including former inmates and their friends started sharing their experiences. Scroll below to read some of them.

More info: Reddit

#1

Image source: r00tk1ll3r, gurmit singh

Reading

#2

Image source: mindfulminx, Bruce Guenter

Former prison librarian. I learned to always look in window reflections to make sure my back was covered. I had to count inmates as they came into the library so that there weren’t too many people. I can look in a room full of people and give a really accurate estimate of how many bodies are in a room because of this.

#3

Image source: Fluid-Imagination301, gaelx

My friends baby daddy was in jail, apparently learned how to give really good massages. Now owns his own massage therapy clinic and employs like 30 RMT’s

#4

Image source: kindalikeacoustic, S B

When my dad came home from prison I remember him being very polite. He was careful not to bump anybody, and he always said excuse me if he were trying to pass somebody.

#5

Image source: Sweet-Palpitation473, Rob Mitchell

There was a guy I knew in prison who converted to Islam while he was in there. He would never swear, so instead of “m**********r” he’d say “motherflower” and I still say it. It’s actually been a bit of a conversation starter and I have friends who’ve started saying it too. That man, probably still in prison, has no idea he’s a trend-setter.

#6

Image source: SirKedyn, John Fowler

In jail I learned the very useful concept of “Program.”

Think of your normal life, all the things that you do in a day or week that fill up the time: hobbies, time with friends and family, the gym, cooking, shopping, a job, etc. All of these activities are what make up your life as you know it, your identity. Responsibilities and obligations are what get most people out of bed every morning. Now take all of that away. You now have tons of free time and nothing to fill it with. The human subconscious needs to be busy, its a holdover from our days as hunter-gatherers since being occupied was necessary for survival, and with absolutely nothing to do people go mad.

Program is how to fill that time in a responsible and productive way. In the simplest terms its making a schedule and sticking to it; deciding how to fill that empty day with activities that serve your goals. During my time inside I got in great shape, did a ton of reading, and learned a lot from various interesting people. When Covid Lockdowns began I wasn’t worried at all because I knew how to Program.

#7

Image source: No-Improvement-6734, Celeste

Being entertained doing absolutely nothing like staring at a wall I just don’t get bored anymore

#8

Image source: alaskaguyindk, James Bowe

If i dont have dice but want dice and have toilet paper and toothpaste. You make basically a macramé paste with them and put it into a window corner, rotate it while its drying to keep it level. Boom dice.

#9

Image source: chut2906, Jonathan Rolande

My husband still makes “jail snacks”, he also turns meals into sandwiches because bread was cheap and filling. Spaghetti between bread slices is an example. If we go somewhere like a restaurant, he’s extremely uncomfortable if he doesn’t have his back against a wall so he can see the room and no one can be behind him. He’s very quick to anger/react if he feels disrespected.

I also know people who hide items they feel are valuable. Even if they live alone, they hide “commodities” like good snacks, Crest Whitestrips, etc.

#10

Image source: Apart_Advantage6256, Pedro Ribeiro Simões

Made a habit of addressing something that could potentially become a problem. Harshly and immediately. Currently trying to drop the harsh part.

#11

Image source: GRAVITRON_748, Marco Verch Professional Photographer

Flushing before it hits the water on every drop to mitigate the smell everyone has to deal with. Lots of flushes. Work probably wonders what the f**k is going on in the restroom when I’m in there.

And general toilet cleanliness etiquette so it’s nice for the next person. I don’t want to clean up your nastiness, you don’t want to clean up mine. It’s a good way to get into it with someone for the dumbest reason. Just leave it nice.

Edit: There are people being downvoted below for comments about water conversation. They are not wrong, this is wasteful. To be clear, I was not advocating many flushes. I was just answering the question honestly about what stuck with me.

I do advocate the cleanliness part tho. Do that.

To avoid wasting water there are environmentally friendly before-you-go sprays that create a scented oily slick on the water’s surface that mask and trap smells beneath the surface pretty well. Then you only need minimal flushing. I’d suggest looking into that for work/office/communal restroom situations.

Problem is they don’t have that inside, and if I have to choose between flushing a few times, or trying to explain why the smell is good for everyone because I’m saving the planet and we should all be happy about that instead of pissed at me…

Could I lose the habit now? Sure.

#12

Image source: LHDC417, gabohalili

I did 12 years in a state institution. The only really strange thing to me was answering the telephone. First off, you don’t receive calls. Second, once the call connects, you can hear them say hello and then a prompt plays letting them know the call is recorded and what not before you then say hello. For about a year people would answer when I call them and I would wait for the recording to play before responding.

#13

Image source: Maleficent-Number-10, in0_m0x0

Friend worked in a bad prison for 10+ years.

Said he become immune to s**t talk.

Nothing, literally nothing, could p**s him off or make him emotional or unbalanced.

In regards to triggers and s**t talk, he reached nirvana

#14

Image source: ieatassfordays, PseudoDude

My bedroom is basically set up like my old cell.
In my bedroom I have everything at arms length.
I sit with my back to the wall when I’m out.
I still pace back and forth in small spaces.

#15

Image source: StubisMcGee, Yuya Tamai

The dorm pod I was in had metal stairs that made loud noises when you walked down them. Almost got in a fight with 3 other people because I woke up at night and had to p**s and woke everyone up.

To this day I can’t fall asleep without peeing immediately before laying down. Like, even if I went less than an hour earlier I have to stand there and focus with yogi-like intensity to squeeze a few drops out or I lay awake feeling like my bladder is full.

#16

Image source: Formal_Cow_8084, Brad Montgomery

Mentally practicing music. I am a guitarist/bassist and wrote many songs without the use of a guitar.

#17

Image source: twinkies_and_wine, Martin Monroe

My boyfriend was in jail quite some time ago and still holds onto his habits. He washes his clothes in the shower or bathroom sink, he sweeps every morning, he jumps out of bed as soon as he wakes up, he lives pretty minimally, he’s super fit and works out everyday, and (he didn’t learn this in jail but it serves as an example of fitness and self-sufficiency) he rides his bike everywhere. I sometimes have to remind him that he can indulge in luxuries like using the washing machine or sleeping in.

#18

Image source: throwawaysmetoo, Enrico Razzetti

Out of juvie I had a habit of being quick to aggression….which seems like the opposite of what the goal of juvie systems should be…

Out of jail I noticed that I had a habit of waiting for some person somewhere to operate a door for me. I wasn’t standing there a long time but there was a definite pause until I was like “oh it’s one of them manual doors, I can do this”.

Also, I’m quite good at hiding things (no, not up my a*s, you a*s fanatics). Over here trying to find my weed again.

Also, observing people, noticing what people are doing.