Skills of Socialization

Eight men sit around a wood table, a family in their own right. Contemplative, concerned with the nature of the mind and how environmental conditioning guides human behavior. Well-spoken men such as these might not be imagined to have spent the better part of their lives in prison. Today, these men pose a stark contrast to the stereotypes surrounding incarceration.

Within Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers Connecticut, the collective conscience of this group of inmates transfuses the environment. Their group is called Skills of Socialization, their dream is to save the young lives of those who walk the same path they once did. 

As adolescents these men grew in a culture of gang activity, crime, drug use and distribution, and violence. The entrenched nature of this culture in inner-cities and other segments of our country is all too well known. Young boys growing up in fatherless homes, broken families, captivated by the influence of their peers. As we know, childhood and adolescence are when we are most impressionable. While there are certainly those who resist this pressure, the widespread criminal culture inevitably entangles many of our society's youth.

The movement begun in Skills of Socialization identifies fundamental, intra-personal criminal processes and offers a method of change. Through acceptance and sharing experiences with others, true feelings and thoughts, those who participate in the group begin to unearth the reasons for who they are. An emotional support framework entirely like that of a family: members are held accountable to themselves and one another.

For some of these men, this is the first time anyone has ever shown they cared about them in their entire life. For some, this is the first family they have ever had. For others, it is the first time in their they have ever shown their true feelings to another human. Undoubtedly, the movement is a congregation of firsts.

Hope. Sometimes, it arises from the most unexpected of places. These eight men share spark of hope with all those who walk through the door into their group. Their message: criminal activity of any sort is unacceptable, but truly, there is another way. While it may be difficult for many of us to comprehend, for our fellows who have grown up in an environment of criminal activity since they were born - there may not be any other reality that ever occurs to them. 

Skills of Socialization (SOS) has already touched nearly 100 young offenders, with the hope that their path can be changed. As it spreads beyond the walls of Osborn Correctional Institute, it will continue to touch many more. Together, the men of SOS aid our mission of reducing recidivism - and more importantly, saving the lives of those youth and young adults who so desperately need someone to help them. 

You can read more about Skills of Socialization in an article written by the Hartford Courant here.

Learned Helplessness

A critical component of detrimental, cyclical behaviors is the concept of learned helplessness. Learned helplessness is a real phenomenon that many individuals will experience at one point or another. 

Learned helplessness arises when an individual has repeatedly been exposed to failure, suffering, or some other negative provocation and is not able to stop it. After such repetitive exposure without solace, the behaviors and perception of the individual will adapt to minimize internal resistance to the phenomenon.

As such, learned helplessness occurs: the subject affected by such negativity comes to fundamentally internalize that there is no other way; they cannot change the outcome and will not change. The concept of change, depending on the extent that the event has been ongoing without recourse, may not even exist as a reality to this individual. The longer these processes go on, the more entrenched they become.

It is important to remember that thoughts, as fleeting and mysterious as they may seem, are the result of actual physiological processes - physical processes in your brain.

In your brain are billions of neurons, specialized cells that relay messages to one another through chemicals and electricity. These neurons are interconnected in complex ways, and groups of many neurons form "circuits" in the brain. When particular groups of neurons are active very often, they undergo a potentiation - making it easier for them to become active. The more and more these particular groups or circuits are used, the easier it is for them to be used. This is why "habits" are so hard to break, and it takes so very long.

Do you find yourself spontaneously checking your phone for social media alerts? Do you find yourself always playing with your hair or touching your face? If you have any "habits" such as these, you can know that they are the result of neuronal pathways that for one reason or another have become strongly wired to fire together. 

The same can be said of particular groups of thoughts which revolve around a common theme. To break free from anxiety, depression, substance addiction, or some other dysfunctional mental state requires overcoming circuits which have become very strong in firing together - and the more they fire, the more they want to fire. 

Such is learned helplessness, a cemented set of pathways leading to one thing: I am powerless. In many I have reached out to, this is vocalized in ways such as: "I want to change, but I can't", "I will always be this way", "There's no point in trying", or sometimes in a series of excuses; always making an objection to why something can or cannot be done: all forms of this learned helplessness. 

Overtime what began as a conglomerate of various thoughts and habits evolves into physical changes in the brain and body, sometimes causing irreparable alterations. Though, change is always possible to some extent; that extent can only be determined by the individual and their environment.

To break free of inability to take novel action, ironically one must take action. It helps to have others to push you; though it is certainly possible to do it on your own. For those who have internalized learned helplessness, a structured environment, constant feedback and motivation, and a good support network can make all the difference. 

For all of our friends, and fellows

      I'd like to commemorate the website beginning to take shape with a first blog post, certainly the first of many to come!

      This blog will serve as the hub for recent news and events surrounding re-entry, discussion on the nature of the human mind and its relation to behavior, and various perspectives on the current state of incarceration in the United States and the endless dynamics which surround it.

      To end this brief dialogue, a quote from a book of old.

““Don’t ever forget these things: The Nature of the world. My Nature. How I relate to the world. What proportion of it I make up. That you are part of nature, and no one can prevent you from acting in harmony with it, always.”
”

— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 2