Have you ever felt like your brain is a giant bowl of spaghetti with no fork in sight? Yeah. Me too. And honestly, sometimes I'm not even the spaghetti, I'm the sauce.

If your brain’s ever felt like it’s been cooked al dente in chaos, welcome. You’re not alone. And no, you don't need fixing, you need a bigger plate.

I’ve had ADHD brain fog for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I'd get in trouble for doodling in class because it was literally the only way I could listen without my mind going full "Windows 98 crash sound."

I never took real notes because the teachers talked way too fast. If you think I could scribble more than two words without missing the next three sentences, you’re giving 8-year-old me way too much credit.

Fast-forward to adulthood, and not much has changed, except now I can officially blame my noodle-brain on being ADHD and autistic. (Thanks, late diagnosis club!)

How ADHD Brain Fog Hits Me (aka The Tangled Brain Effect)

• Missing the first half of what people say because my brain takes a few seconds to boot up.

• Getting so bored mid-conversation that I interrupt people to finish their sentences, you know just to speed things up.

• Getting overwhelmed by last-minute schedule changes... or the horrifying emptiness of having no plan at all.

• Burning out because "pushing through" brain fog felt like the "responsible" thing to do. (Spoiler: it wasn't.)

I used to think if I just worked harder, I'd "fix" it. Like if I put in twelve-hour days, I'd finally feel productive. Spoiler: I mostly just felt like a soggy meatball by the end of it.

Now? When I feel the spaghetti starting to stick, I listen to my brain. I take what I lovingly call "horizontal time" doom-scrolling, watching dumb TV, sitting in total silence, or listening to music until my brain untangles itself.

The Emotional Side: It's Not You, It's Capitalism

The worst part about ADHD brain fog isn't the fog itself. It's the guilt. The "I must be doing something wrong." The "everyone else can do this, why can't I?"

Newsflash: You’re not broken. Your brain wasn’t built for capitalism. Neither was mine.

Sometimes I get mad at society for:

• Not diagnosing me sooner

• Expecting 40-hour work weeks to be "normal"

• Making neurodivergent folks feel like failures for needing rest

And honestly? That anger is kinda healing.

Real Tips for Spaghetti Brain Days

Horizontal Time (Flop Mode: Activated)

Permission to flop. Guilt-free.

Loose Brain Dumps (Explode the Chaos)

Keep a cheap notebook in every room. Explode your brain onto paper whenever needed. IT REALLY FUCKING HELPS!

Timers (Fake Productivity Cheat Code)

40 minutes of focus max. Then break. Then snack. Then continue if I have spoons (energy) left.

Walks (Move Your Meat Suit)

Yes, putting on sneakers sucks. Do it anyway. 10 minutes counts and sometimes I hate how easily it helps me feel better. 

Low-Stakes Planning (One Main Quest Per Day)

No rigid schedules. I plan one "main event" per day. That's it. Anything else is a bonus.

What didn’t help? Scheduling my life down to the minute, even my bathroom breaks like I was Sheldon Cooper from "Big Bang Theory." Color-coding every task like it would save my soul. Plot twist: It just made me spiral in technicolor.

Embracing the Chaos

Embracing ADHD brain fog doesn't mean giving up. It means expecting curveballs and building your life around the fact that sometimes you're just going to wander through the kitchen to grab toilet paper from the pantry and somehow end up reorganizing the spice rack 30 minutes later instead, and you still haven't gone to the bathroom.

Your brain is creative, chaotic, and sometimes extremely bad at remembering why you entered a room. That's okay. You're still doing great.

Why I Made This Piece (and Where You Can Get It)

This exact feeling inspired me to make my latest artwork: "My Brain Is Spaghetti, and I'm the Sauce."

• Download the digital print → to hang in your space as a reminder that your brain is deliciously chaotic and perfect.
  

• License it for your business → and slap it on mugs, hats, or whatever your noodle-loving heart desires.

• Snag it as a sticker →  so you can carry this plus-size buffering queen on your water bottle or your favorite notebook. 

Because honestly? You deserve to celebrate your spaghetti brain, not shame it. Wear it. Hang it. Live it.

Want More Cozy Chaos?

I'm diving deeper into creating content for neurodivergent folks, body positivity warriors, and mental health misfits just like us.

This blog will be a space where I expand on the why behind my art and (hopefully) make you feel a little less alone in this tangled, beautiful mess we call life.

If you want to keep getting cozy chaos in your inbox, sign up for my newsletter → and you'll get first dibs on new art drops, tips, memes, and very questionable life advice.

Stay tangled, bestie.