Mind Map/Palace/Room/Attic - What's it like?
So, for those of you who don’t know me - I’m a high functioning Autistic with BPD (borderline personality disorder) - not a sociopath, though I’ve been accused of that before to.

I naturally have a mind palace, I didn’t build it - it was already there.  I personally just call it my ‘brain’ and leave it at that.  Most people have no idea how a mind palace works, never mind what it ‘feels’ like, and while I don’t know if I can give an accurate description, I’m going to try.

Let me just say - no I’m not a genius, and if I ever met Sherlock I would feel like an utter idiot in his presence and would run and hide.  I also can’t do deductions, though like a lot of Sherlockians, I do try.  I do acknowledge that I learn very quickly and I have good observation and retention skills.

I can recall 150 dog breeds, behavioral patterns and standards at any given time.  It’s a ‘stress’ room for me.  Oddly enough, a picture of a needle is how I access that room, because that’s usually when I go into it.  I have a needle phobia, and my husband at the time, would tell me to list dogs in alphabetical order to keep me calm.  However; that room is vastly different from Sherlock’s Redbeard room.  Redbeard was a repressed memory, a very happy and sad memory that he had locked away.  We all have memories like that, memories that we keep locked up and we acknowledge they’re there, but we never truly think about them.  It was his emergency button, literally stored there to keep him calm.  These memories can actually stop you from going into shock.  They tend to be very powerful, memories that if you accidentally think about, make you cry.  I’m not sure what mine would be, but if I had to guess, it would have been when I used to dance as a child, in traditional native dress.  

It’s not just the memory though, it’s reliving that memory, and fully experiencing it.  That’s what the rooms do - you become immersed - and sometimes you get completely locked out of reality.  This is why Sherlock would ‘blank out’.  It’s why I often blank out completely and actually have worried a lot of people before.

I also don’t see ‘rooms’ or ‘doors’, but rather I associate a subject with an object, phrase, colour, scent…  it depends.  Math I tend to think of a calculator or a black board, numbers and equations, thinks like that.  I love mathematics, always have.  I’m not good at it, but I understand the basic structure of the various types, and I like to make up my own equations for fun.  I associate warm colours with it, like reds and oranges, and for some reason it reminds me of Christmas.  Science I think of the periodic table, shades of blue and yellow, chemical scents and a lab.  I’m rubbish at it, completely stupid, but I still love it, and every now and then I’ll go in, look for a subject I’m not very good at and try to fill in the blanks.  I love to learn.

A mind map is like a day dream, you don’t realize it’s really there, but once you do - you can go anywhere.  If mine was better built, there’s no doubt I could use it to solve difficult problems.  I have used it to solve minor ones - I volunteer at the local SPCA - so having extensive knowledge on dog breeds is a huge advantage.  Not only can I look at a dog and tell what it’s main mix is, it also helps with understanding their temperament and needs.  I’ve actually been requested personally by new dog owners to sit and talk to me about their new dog - even if I haven’t worked with it before.  I’m not a trainer, I just sorta understand them. 

CAM’s mind palace is a good example of using objects as landmarkers.  It looks like it’s full of junk, but each one of those objects are extremely important in his filing system.  He also has a filing system for quick access of the idea of where it would be.  It almost seems too hard to be able to relate to, so I’m going to give you an example of what that’s like.

You’re walking along the street, and suddenly you’re hit with a familiar scent.  A perfume, food, or something really gross… but instead of focusing on what that scent is - it takes you back to a memory.  Childhood, a trauma, a happy event - and for that split second, you find yourself lost in thought over it.  That’s what CAM’s palace is - every object is associated with a memory.  That memory can be used to track down another memory, and so on until he finds what he’s looking for.  

I can’t tell you how to build one, but maybe this can help you understand what it’s like.  Those with Autism often think with visual cues and memories, rather than individual thoughts.  I, for the most part, think with individual thoughts like most people.  However; I can think visually just as easily if I choose to.  I can’t do both at the same time.  I’m pretty sure Sherlock can. 

Now, before you go and thinking your stupid because you have trouble thinking visually - Mycroft thinks individual thoughts.  He’s smarter than Sherlock.  He, as far as I can tell, shows no signs of aspergers or anything like that.  So I’m not here to call people stupid, or accidentally insult people - I just want people to understand how my thinking pattern works.  I’m not a genius, I’m tired of people assuming I am - this is just how I see the world.

So when I tell people I ‘relate’ to Sherlock - this is one of the reasons why I do.  This only scratches the surface though.  His personality is very similar to mine as well - though I like to consider myself a Molly as far as that goes.