Surviving Behind Bars: Hyper-vigilance and Care Leavers in Prison

For many care leavers, hyper-vigilance isn’t just a habit, it’s a survival tool. Growing up in environments shaped by trauma, instability, and mistrust, this heightened state of alertness becomes deeply ingrained. When care-experienced individuals enter the prison system, hyper-vigilance often follows, amplifying the challenges they face in an already hostile environment.

Hyper-vigilance develops as a response to unsafe or unpredictable surroundings, an essential mechanism for survival in homes marked by neglect, abuse, or instability. For children in care, frequent placement changes and fractured relationships further reinforce this mindset. They learn to constantly assess their environment, reading every sound, movement, or tone of voice for potential danger.

In prison, hyper-vigilance can intensify. The environment is inherently high-stress, with rigid hierarchies, unpredictable behaviour from others, and limited personal control. For care leavers, this can feel like an extension of their childhood experiences, constantly on edge, unable to relax, and always prepared for the worst.

This heightened state impacts emotional regulation and decision-making. Small disagreements can escalate quickly when someone feels perpetually under threat. The same survival mechanisms that once protected them now isolate them, making it harder to build trust or navigate the prison system constructively.

Prisons often lack the trauma-informed approaches needed to support care-experienced individuals. Instead of addressing the root causes of hyper-vigilance, unresolved trauma, attachment difficulties, and feelings of abandonment, prison environments often reinforce these patterns.

Breaking this cycle requires understanding and intervention. Trauma-informed practices within prisons can help care leavers feel safer, enabling them to focus on rehabilitation rather than survival. By fostering environments of consistency, empathy, and support, we can provide care leavers with the tools to heal, break the cycle of trauma, and rebuild their lives.

Care leavers in prison are not defined by their past or their mistakes, they’re survivors. With the right support, they can overcome the hyper-vigilance that has shaped their lives and move toward a future where they no longer need to be constantly on guard.