Bullied Behind Bars The Brutal Truth About Prison Trauma on Men’s Mental Health | Raw Minds S2 Ep 67

Welcome back to Raw Minds. I’m your host Erick.

Today’s episode is uncomfortable. It’s not polite. And it’s necessary. I sit down with Matt Melvin, author of Bullied Behind Bars, to talk about prison trauma, bullying behind bars, men’s mental health, and what incarceration really does to the human mind. Matt made one impulsive decision while working at a car dealership.

That decision sent him to prison. What followed nearly destroyed him. In Bullied Behind Bars, Matt lays out life inside the prison system as someone already marked. Gay. Christian. Trump supporter. Later diagnosed with autism. Those labels made him a target inside a system that punishes difference instead of protecting human life.

His story documents prison bullying, gang threats, physical assault, sexual assault, rape, denial of mental health care, and repeated time in solitary confinement. It shows what happens when the criminal justice system stops seeing a human being and starts seeing a problem to manage.

This conversation goes far beyond the book. We talk fear, isolation, survival, and the psychological damage caused by incarceration and solitary confinement. Matt opens up about being denied mental health care while clearly breaking, being targeted by gangs, and living in constant fight or flight while inside prison.

He also talks about where healing actually started after release. Journaling. Men’s groups. Faith. Vulnerability. Forgiveness. Letting go of ego. Turning pain into purpose instead of letting it destroy him.This episode explores men’s mental health, prison trauma, autism in the justice system, bullying, criminal justice reform, and recovery after incarceration. It is a raw look at what many incarcerated men experience but rarely feel safe talking about.

This episode is for anyone who has ever been bullied, silenced, locked up, written off, or felt trapped in their own mind. It’s also for parents, families, and anyone who believes conversations about prison reform and men’s mental health need to go deeper than slogans and surface-level takes.

This is Raw Minds at its core.

Real stories. Real pain. Real accountability.IN THIS EPISODE

Prison life from the inside

Bullying behind bars

Gang violence and constant fear

Sexual assault in prison

Solitary confinement

Denied mental health care

Living in fight or flight

Journaling as survival

Finding faith in isolation

Forgiveness and healing

Men’s groups and real vulnerability

Why silence destroys men

Criminal justice reform Turning pain into purpose

This is not a soft conversation.

It’s real. It’s raw. And it matters.

CONNECT WITH MATT MELVIN

Websitehttps://bullybehindbars.com

Instagram @bullybehindbars

FacebookMatthew.Melvin.5621

X @BarsBullied

[e-mail]

Matt is available for speaking engagements, men’s groups, and conversations that actually help people. Reach out.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Bullied Behind Bars is a raw, firsthand account of surviving prison as someone already marked as different. It exposes bullying, violence, sexual assault, and systemic failure inside the criminal justice system, while also showing the power of journaling, faith, accountability, and forgiveness.

The book is available on Amazon.

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IF YOU’RE IN CRISIS

Canada

Call or text 988 any time.

United States

Call or text 988.Everywhere else

Use your local crisis line or emergency number.

You are not weak. You are needed here.