Mental Cartography for Clarity and Self-Trust
What if navigating ADHD wasn’t about fighting against your brain but understanding how it naturally works? Stephon, author and self-described modern muse, introduces a strategy he calls mental cartography: the art of mapping how you think, feel, and respond so you can navigate life with more insight and intention.
“Your brain’s already doing this work. Mental cartography is about bringing it into awareness so you can choose how to respond instead of just reacting.”
— Stephon Brown, ADHDifference
Why This Strategy Matters
Neurodivergent minds, especially ADHD brains, often process the world in patterns, analogies, and emotional resonance. Traditional logic might fall flat but metaphor, story, and intuitive mapping click.
Mental cartography helps you understand not just what you’re thinking, but how your brain arrived there. That insight can change everything, from your reactions in tough conversations, to your sense of self-worth.
This strategy also encourages greater self-trust. Instead of trying to mimic someone else’s system, you get curious about your own. You start asking: What fuels me? What drains me? What truth do I still carry that no longer serves me?
When to Use This Strategy
Mental cartography is especially powerful when:
- You’re overwhelmed by emotions and unsure where they came from
- You’re caught in old patterns or beliefs that feel outdated
- You want to make better decisions aligned with your values
- You’re craving creativity, clarity, or insight… but feeling blocked
How to Practice It Daily
Mental cartography doesn’t require fancy tools. Just presence and pattern-spotting.
Here are a few ways to begin:
- Name your influences: Ask “Whose map am I using here?” Are you responding based on your own beliefs or someone else’s expectations?
- Break down big feelings: Trace an emotion back to its origin. What memory or meaning is attached to it? What thought pattern did it trigger?
- Use mental modeling: What would [person I respect] do? This builds a bridge between abstract guidance and personal action.
- Visualise internal dynamics: If a group of friends represents a fire triangle (heat, oxygen, fuel), who plays what role? Apply that same metaphor to your thoughts and habits.
This is creative self-awareness. And it helps you move from confusion to clarity without needing to mask, mimic, or minimise yourself.
The Science Behind It
Mental cartography aligns closely with research on metacognition, the brain’s ability to reflect on its own thinking. Metacognitive strategies have been shown to improve problem-solving, emotional regulation, and adaptive behavior in both neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals.
In ADHD, where thought patterns often feel scattered or emotionally charged, bringing structure to how you think helps calm internal chaos. It shifts you from reactive to reflective.
It also supports interoceptive awareness – your ability to interpret internal signals. Studies show that improving interoception can lead to better emotional regulation and resilience, especially in individuals with ADHD or anxiety.
Roebers, C. M, 2017
💬 Final Thought
Stephon reminds us that self-understanding isn’t just reflection, it’s liberation. When you map your internal world, you stop fighting your nature and start navigating it with creativity and compassion.
“So many people are justifying their existence instead of living it. But you don’t have to prove your worth. You just have to learn how you work, and then let yourself work that way.”
Mental cartography is not about fixing yourself. It’s about finally seeing yourself—clearly, courageously, and with curiosity.