RISK & DIAGNOSIS
Past Prison
Past Prison is the Identity Collision profile where a person is trapped by the self their nervous system still defaults to — the most common collision at ~42%.
Definition
Past Prison is the pattern where a past version of you — the kid who was not chosen, the founder who failed, the partner who got betrayed — keeps running the present. Logic has moved on. The nervous system has not.
Signature symptoms: invisible ceilings, self-description in past tense, physical tension when opportunity appears.
Why this matters
Past Prison is the most common collision because the nervous system prefers the cage it knows to the freedom it does not. Naming the cage is the first step out.
Related coverage
Identity CollisionAn Identity Collision is the hidden war between who you were, who you are, and who you are becoming — it runs until it is named.Success SabotageSuccess Sabotage is the Identity Collision profile where the amygdala tags breakthrough as danger and hits the emergency brake — ~33% of cases.Compass CrisisCompass Crisis is the Identity Collision profile where external success has been achieved but internal direction has collapsed — ~25% of cases.