The Mental Map of the World

Mapping the vital parts of life, much like mapping out the environment of a video game world, involves having a clear understanding of the terrain that is being mapped out. In “Breath of the Wild,” a crafted map that a player can find online can be used to show the player all of the shrines in Hyrule and the pathways they can use to reach those places. Away from the gaming environment, a person that reaches out to professionals can use those professional’s guidance to create mental models and map out the important “feeling bubbles” of their lives. Discussing these “feeling bubbles” with psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and other mental professionals can help lay out the mental landscape of an individual.

Another core component of map creation is that the map must have a clear legend that explains what all of the symbols and signs mean within the cartographic artifact. A good player’s map in “Minecraft” will use symbols to show where to find resources. A great player’s map will allow the player to tell a story within the landscape. Real world models must denote what the different “feeling bubbles” mean to a person based on past experiences, memories associated with those “feeling bubbles,” and professional guidance on how to deal with those events. The legend represents not only the geography of the land and the barriers that make up the geography but also the resources that the geography has to offer.

When the world becomes too much, we must seek out the resources that can help.

The final component of map creation in both video games and mental health is the need to ground the map in the reality of the world. Some of the best maps present the aesthetics of the game onto the paper (e.g., the paper map gave with the “Dragon Warrior I” was an excellent example of maintaining the branding of the game with their font selection and maintaining the gaming experience with the graphic layout of the map). Other great diagrams make the pathways clear between the points of civilization and show the boundaries of the wild world where only the brave dare to travel.

This realism of the world presented on an easily accessible resource can make all the difference in surviving the chaos of the realm. Professionals that can show the critical area to discover in the field and the explorers of the domain can point out the change that is needed on the map to reflect the reality of the world. Professionals in the example are played by psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and other mental professionals while the explorers are either those that have experience stress and other issues in society and share those experiences with psychological professionals or those that journal their issues and reflect on those experience later. This type of mapping of the real world is necessary as a means of not trying to sugar coat the struggles we all experience or minimizing the pain we can all experience from time-to-time.

The world can be made a better place with one more safety blanket in your hand.