Anxiety after release is not a sign of weakness - it’s a normal, adaptive response to major change. Life outside the prison gates can be unpredictable: new expectations, unfamiliar routines, and social pressures can feel destabilising, especially after the structure and control of prison life.

In prison, survival often depends on hypervigilance - constantly scanning for risk, reading people, and protecting yourself emotionally. This becomes second nature and can be quite automatic. That same hyper-awareness, while essential inside, can become exhausting outside. Crowded buses, sudden noises, or being surrounded by strangers can trigger an alert response. Even simple decisions - what...

Leaving prison is often described as a fresh start, but for many, it can feel like anything but. The journey after incarceration is rarely straightforward, and one of the most invisible but deeply rooted barriers is the emotional weight of shame and guilt. At The Reasons Why Foundation, we’ve seen how these feelings can quietly sabotage progress, fracture relationships, and derail the journey toward rebuilding a life. But we’ve also seen something else; that with the right support, healing is possible. Shame and guilt don’t have to define a person’s future.

When someone serves a prison sentence, the punishment doesn’t always...

At The Reasons Why Foundation, we have met many individuals who are not only grappling with the practical challenges of rebuilding their lives after prison but who are also carrying deep emotional and psychological wounds. These wounds, often inflicted long before a crime was committed, can remain unhealed, even after a sentence has been served. Understanding the link between mental health and desistance from crime is not just about statistics or service design. It’s about recognising the humanity in each person and providing the kind of consistent, relational support that enables long-term change.

In this post, we explore how mental...

At The Reasons Why Foundation, we support people who are rebuilding their lives during and after prison. Many of the individuals we work with have lived through layers of trauma, long before incarceration began, during their time inside, and in the uncertain journey of release. The emotional toll of surviving life-altering events, navigating high-risk environments, and coping with stigma after release cannot be underestimated.

What many need isn’t more punishment, more instructions, or more checklists. What they need, and what they deserve, is time and space to reconnect with themselves. They need the chance to feel safe, seen, and whole again....

A Trauma-Informed Perspective from The Reasons Why Foundation.

Introduction: The Long Road to Liberation

When we talk about prison sentences, public attention often focuses on headlines, crime statistics, or the cost to the taxpayer. But little is said about the human cost, not just of offending, but of long-term imprisonment. For those serving 10, 15, 20 years or more, prison becomes a place where time freezes and trauma compounds. And when release finally comes, it is not simply a moment of freedom. It is the beginning of a complex and often overwhelming journey of re-entry into a society that has long since...