introduction to internal mapping

internal mapping is a therapeutic exercise commonly done by individuals with complex dissociation [1, 2, 3] that generally involves drawing a diagram of how one's inner parts relate to one another. this said, details and focuses naturally vary, and i would highly encourage anyone adoping this exercise to make it your own.

possible frames for internal maps include:

• a 'relationship diagram' of your internal family system
• a diagram of the people you are across different areas of your life, with annotations detailing how you think about each other version of yourself / area of your life while in one or another
• an illustration of your 'internal world', 'headspace', or 'inner safe space' (especially those that involve layers, districts, or other partitions) that locates where you envision your different parts 'living' and/or 'spending a lot of time'
• a diagram representing your 'whole' personality or life and lines where you feel there are divisions or conflicts within it

traditionally, internal mapping is done to help individuals identify areas of themselves that are more distant and/or unknown, but this is not a requirement nor a universally helpful goal. it is also important to note that this exercise is not an attempt at creating an objective and/or permanent representation of your collective individual; it is my opinion that internal mapping is best done regularly (for example, every six months), and can be seen as a form of 'checking in with yourself' as your life and personality develops.

the benefits of interal mapping include:

• in the long term, naturally developing records of your internal workings, which may act as evidence of your personal changes, growth, and mental health improvement over time
• in the short term, becoming better equipped to acknowlege, engage with, and understand 'yourself' and your internal mechanisms or relationships, by putting everything ephemeral and inside your mind onto paper.

suggested technique

i like to start this exercise by writing out a list of which of my moving parts (e.g. headspaces / flashbacks / distinctive moods / personalities) i feel have been 'active', present, or relevant lately.

(HONESTY TIP: when i cannot remember what i have been feeling, doing, or 'being' (as is often the case), i try to focus less on my internal ways of being (e.g. identities), and more on my external settings or contexts that i have encountered lately, that may have transformed me. in my experience, this helps to prompt me and avoid missing areas of my life i am internally disconnected from—even if i generally forget that i have a 'work mode' that is part of me, i am definitely cognitively aware that i do go to work!)

an illustrated example; not anybody's real internal map.

with this initial list, and using pen and paper (or a digital art program, or a powerpoint program, or a mind-mapping program) i can then start to lay out each of my moving parts in little round bubbles.

i tend to arrange my moving parts based on how 'related' they feel (e.g. my traumatised parts generally end up in similar areas of the canvas, as do my family-related parts, with those that are a bit of both laying in between these clusters), while also drawing lines, partitions, and arrows between parts with annotations throughout to provide further details when needed.

these further details can include:

• what opinions i hold as one part towards another (e.g. do i hold my suffering parts in disdain when i am a normal part?)
• how i conceptualise two or more parts' relationships (e.g. if they feel like brothers, feel like mirror images...)
• how much memory or identification i tend to lose as my personality moves between parts/part-clusters
• how i generally transition from one part to another (e.g. if i often shift into my self-punishing parts, after having been in angry parts prior).

the level of complexity and detail you provide your map is entirely up to you, all depending on the function you want it to serve.

you may also want to:

• create a colour guide to easily illustrate e.g. the genders, ages, similarities, rough level of integration, rough level of complexity of your parts
• manipulate the shape and size of your bubbles to signify the significance or presence of your parts across various areas of your being
• create partially merged or gradient bubbles for indistinct parts
• represent large clusters or areas with indistinct identities as vague shapes or descriptions without a firm bubble outline
• or use literally any other creative idea or framework that comes to you for representing yourself in a way that is helpful!

good luck, and have fun! let me know if you develop any cool methods towards internal mapping. i'm always happy to share more possibilities.