Most people remember the first scary movie that terrified them afterward for
nights on end. The feeling of the nightmare is so haunting that it could send you into emotions of panic from the night-light on the wall.

Adults who’ve served time behind bars, our nightmares make Elm Street seem like Sesame Street. The constant fear of either being re-incarcerated or reliving the trauma of incarceration is a scary movie that never ends, and it has a name — Prison Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s the heightened
emotions, anxiety, depression, or avoidance of situations that bring back
memories of incarceration, including interacting with law enforcement.

This trauma was recently exacerbated for me, after having being (choked-slammed then) arrested for “interfering with police” when officer’s received an anonymous home-invasion call to a property I own. The thought of reappearing in a courtroom keeps me up at night. It creates these waves of tears and an inability to concentrate. My hands are trembly; I have heart palpitations; I can’t sleep; I constantly feel paranoid.

I almost feel like I could have tolerated being CHOKED more than CHARGED! That’s how terrifying it is to be re-criminalized.