A/66/268 Annex Effects of solitary confinement Many symptoms may present themselves in individuals held in solitary confinement, both concurrent with their solitary confinement and after the period of solitary confinement has terminated. The following list prepared by Dr. Sharon Shaleva demonstrates a range of possible symptoms. Anxiety, ranging from feelings of tension to full-blown panic attacks • Persistent low level of stress • Irritability or anxiousness • Fear of impending death • Panic attacks Depression, varying from low mood to clinical depression • Emotional flatness/blunting — loss of ability to have any “feelings” • Mood swings • Hopelessness • Social withdrawal; loss of initiation of activity or ideas; apathy; lethargy • Major depression Anger, ranging from irritability to full-blown rage • Irritability and hostility • Poor impulse control • Outbursts of physical and verbal violence against others, self and objects • Unprovoked anger, sometimes manifested as rage Cognitive disturbances, ranging from lack of concentration to confused state • Short attention span • Poor concentration • Poor memory • Confused thought processes; disorientation Perceptual distortions, ranging from hypersensitivity to hallucinations • Hypersensitivity to noises and smells • Distortions of sensation (e.g., walls closing in) • Disorientation in time and space a 26 Sharon Shalev, A Sourcebook on Solitary Confinement (London, Mannheim Centre for Criminology, 2008), pp. 15-17; also Peter Scharff Smith, “The effects of solitary confinement on prison inmates: a brief history and review of the literature”, Crime and Justice, vol. 34 (2006), p. 441. 11-44570