‘ Childhood trauma and experiences are for life , they should be used as learning structures not crutches . Mental health problems are for life , but addictions can stop . People need to realise addictions are prisons and the pursuit of drugs is slavery .’

TWISTED WORLD

I am a very average man . I have never personally known anyone who did not suffer childhood trauma , abuse and neglect . Rich kids suffer from overindulgence as poor kids suffer from deprivation . Most adults have coping mechanisms to deal with their problems . In this twisted modern world there are multitudes of problems . Every person ’ s pain is unique to them . We can sympathise , pretend to empathise and indulge their phobias , fears and fantasies . Any addiction is a temporary illness – madness .

Some people need help , some people give help . Some people only take – another addiction . Like the song says , ‘ some people like to abuse , some people like to be abused ’. We really are all equal in as much as we are all potential victims .

Telling people they are victims encourages them to be victims . We need a solid combination of love , care , help , tough love and complete honesty . Psychology can be used by qualified counsellors not wannabe dogooders – cheap watered-down care is useless .

Childhood trauma and experiences are for life , they

should be used as learning structures not crutches . Mental health problems are for life , but addictions can stop . People need to realise addictions are prisons and the pursuit of drugs is slavery .

Childhood trauma cannot be cured by drugs . Personal support and understanding should go a long way . Seventy per cent of all drugs in prison are from the NHS . Prison health care teams seem to lose something and take the easy routes . Some prison medical staff are beautiful people , but they go with the flow . It is far easier to control a mental health problem than to treat it .

Once a criminal always a criminal – it ’ s hard to get a job unless it ’ s Timpsons or drug dealers . We are what we lived through . We all need help . Get rid of the pretenders and help each other take the goodness from the past . Leave the crap to the wrongdoers . Do not give people reasons for failure . It ’ s easy to fail . Hard work can be very pleasant and rewarding – do not let childhood trauma maketh the man-woman .

Yesterday ’ s gone . Let ’ s start from now .

PS It ’ s my first time in prison . What do I know . Richard

IT ’ S OK TO BE HONEST

As a child growing up I knew that I wasn ’ t the same as other kids . I never really mixed with others , I had very little confidence and didn ’ t know how to start a conversation . I would always say the wrong things or my words wouldn ’ t come out .

That ’ s when I started getting bullied and when I started primary school it got so bad that I would get physically punched , kicked and robbed of property . It was most of the lads in the class but ended up being just one person for all of my time at that school . I left primary feeling scared , but I did feel stronger in a strange way .

The same thing happened all through secondary school . At home my dad suffered with severe depression and would be very angry . Me and my mum used to feel scared around him – he also had a bad addiction to gambling . When I was about 19 my anxiety was so bad I just wanted to sleep and not wake up and hope that when I did I would feel content and happy to be able to get on with life .

I was too anxious to even go to the doctors and tell them how I felt . I used to go with my dad to the pub around about

16 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • JUNE 2021

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