Paris Hilton Thanks Jailmates for Helping Her Cope Behind Bars  6/28/07

Paris Hilton has thanked her fellow inmates at Los Angeles' Century Regional Detention Center for helping her cope with life behind bars.

The socialite was released from jail after serving 23 days of a 45-day sentence for violating probation early on Tuesday (26Jun07) and has already opened up about her experiences to U.S. weekly magazine People.

The publication sat down with the hotel heiress as she relaxed after her prison ordeal at her family's Bel Air, California compound on Tuesday afternoon.

And Hilton made a point of thanking the women who helped make her prison stay more pleasurable than she had imagined it would be.

She said, "All of the inmates were very supportive. There were girls next to me. We could talk through the vents and they were just really sweet."

And speaking about her medical issues, which led briefly to her removal from jail, she said, "I was basically in the foetal position, basically in hysterics.

"The doctors were observing me while I was there. They explained to Sheriff

(Lee) Baca that they thought I was having severe anxiety, panic attacks, claustrophobia."

Hilton also confessed she desperately needed a hug from her mum Kathy upon her release, admitting, "I haven't had a hug in a long time."

She concluded her first post-jail interview by hitting back at critics who fear her time behind bars will not curb her wild ways.

She said, "They're wrong and they don't know me. I'm a good person. I'm a compassionate person. I have a big heart. I'm sincere, and they'll see."