great sense of self discipline, he has consistently reached out to people on the streets resulting in a comparatively active "social" life via the mail and his occasional telephone calls. He, along with the healthiest survivors I know, maintains a strict daily regimen including hours of physical exercises, spending a specific portion of each day reading and studying political and Afrocentric materials, and then another portion of the day writing to outside people and publications. It has been my observation that those who remain the healthiest are those who maintain and grow in their political understanding. The emphasis of their daily existence is not what is happening in the prison, but rather what is happening on the streets. It has been my privilege to work with some of the most intelligent political minds via the mail and occasional telephone calls, and I have benefited enormously in my own work as a result. The concept of the National Campaign to Stop Control Unit Prisons came out of written dialogue with a number of prisoners living in sensory deprivation units throughout the country.

It seems to me that those who retain the highest degree of their mental health also maintain ties with family and friends, often receiving photographs, relevant newspaper articles, news magazines, rap magazines, and so on. In other words, at least a portion of their mental and physical health is as a result of their own self-discipline and self-education, and the rest is as a result of their remaining street oriented. It is also very necessary to battle the self-destructiveness that you describe in the commission of "acts of desperation" in a quest for excitement. In a number of supermax prisons that I hear from, people are describing "wars" consisting of flinging excrement at one another as a form of stimulation, often resulting in letters of self-disgust and rage. It is possible through inner conviction to turn anger into the will to survive. Many of the healthier survivors that I have met also talk about coming to terms with the consequences of their own behavior - that is, acknowledging self-destructive behavior in an effort to rid oneself of it. They feel that self-destructive behavior is a show of weakness rather than strength. It is also important that you balance the reality of surveillance with the extreme paranoia that you describe. That paranoia can become permanently embedded. At the very least, maintain your sense of control over your own behavior in an attempt to stay sane inside the insanity in which you are forced to live.

While I don't know who your support system consists of, it may be important for your own health to begin to reach out to family, friends - and you may even want to attempt making new friends. I am enclosing an article which came out some time ago called the "T Bag factor." In it they note that with long term hostages, those who survived the experience best were those who were secure in the love of their friends and family. This is an important clue for your own ability to retain your health and humanity. It seems to me from your letter that you are well on your way to assessing the impact of supermax and how to recover from the sensory deprivation. That assessment mechanism can be enhanced and used on a daily basis. Whether in there or out here, assessing and balancing oneself is a daily mental health task. You describe well the tendency to adjust and conform to the mind-deadening conditions, and I am reminded of the words of Assata Shakur's grandmother during a prison visit. She advised Assata to NEVER get used to prison. There is a great need for more people to comprehend the horrors of this latest "invention" of the corrections industry, and your ability to assess yourself, along with your writing ability, can contribute to this effort. There are a number of alternative newspapers throughout the country which may accept your written commentary.

After having worked for over a decade with people in isolation, I understand clearly that it is not possible to come out of such an experience undamaged. It is, however, possible - and imperative - to minimize that damage by seeking out whatever forms of stimulation which are available. I am sure that you understand that your concern about becoming "mentally, physically and socially" unfit for general population and society in general is an exact description of the purposes of supermax prisons. Minimizing the impact of the horror of your living conditions will be difficult, but not impossible. Your reaching out to Cathy is a sign of your own health and determination.

If you are willing, I would like permission to share your letter and my response in the next national mailing of the Campaign to Stop Control Unit Prisons. It may be that we can engender survival-oriented commentary.

Bonnie Kerness, MSW, LSW