Does anybody else experience this "cluttered" feel

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Often, after a long day or being in an overwhelming social situation, I find that my mind races and feels cluttered... The closest word I can find to describe it is "cloudy."
This has been a regular occurance since I was around eight years old, and I really dislike the feeling I get from it.
Do you get the same feeling, and if so what do you do to get rid of it? I listen to music usually but sometimes it really isn't enough to shift the clutter and calm myself down!

I know how you feel, usually if it's not to bad and I can find somewhere dark and quiet to spend some time it will go away. other times though, like last weekend when I went to the rodeo, I had to sleep it off.

Yes.

My wife often picks up on it and will ask what's wrong - and that's what I tell her - ie. "I'm feeling cluttered" or "it's getting cluttered".

I experience it, but I'd describe the feeling as "static-y": it's like having a radio tuned to loud static in my head.
Rest is the only thing that helps.

Sounds suspiciously like Number 1 Son's "out of this world" from younger fays and my wife's "brain fog". I may have something like but not so definable.

I feel some degree of mental "clutter" all the time, though the severity of said clutter varies. It's a hassle, as it renders everything in life a struggle. *Nothing* comes easily to me. As a result of this, I seem to put forth far more effort than other people and accomplish far less. Nothing makes this cluttered feeling go away completely, but it tends to be significantly less of a problem when I leave myself plenty of time to rest and "recharge." Unfortunately, this is not always possible.

I struggle with this as well. I'm very noise-sensitive, especially in crowds where a lot of overlapping conversations buzz in my ears. I can't filter the noise, and sometimes long after I've escaped the crowd, I still have the "clutter" of it in my head. A few hours of solitude is the only cure for me.

Yes that sounds like me. Everything in my mind seems untidy and badly-organised, with stuff getting lost or misplaced before I've had the chance to really think it through.

But rather than call it a disfunction, I tend to question my notion of what a properly-working brain is supposed to feel like. The brain is an organic thing, part of the messy accident that we call life. It's not really surprising if it doesn't process the inputs methodically like a computer would. We tend to think that learning and memory are logical processes that should simply do our bidding, but some people say that learning is primarily an emotional process, and that if the feelings aren't right, learning won't happen.

More for me to much talking just makes me want to either Wrll or sit alone and stop the incessent irritating noise.

While my mind does not race I sometimes feel like my mind is foggy, and I am living in a zombie mode. I have found that DHA enriched fish oil, blueberry/strawberry smoothies, vitamins, green tea, exercise and the antidepressants prescribed by my doctor almost completely eliminate this! I don't know which of the treatments is essential, it could be one or a combination of these.

IMO as a PhD candidate doing my thesis work in neuroscience, this foggieness is a reflection of your brain cells not being able to keep up with your environment. If you really want to address this what works for me is taking a B 50 complex at night before I go to sleep with fish oil. Then when I wake up I have a blueberry/strawberry smoothie and tea (lots of nutrients for your brain). IMHO I would start there and see how you do. Also if you can spend an hour a day walking 3-6 times a week that would be great too!

I get the foggy mind thing quite often, but not so much the racing thoughts... though, I will say that my brain tends to shift gears randomly, as characteristic of ADHD. In order to get rid of the overload, I need to go to a quiet area and/or rest. Both of those activities help.

I believe what you are describing is the same thing I get, but it affects me a little different. Same issue of a cluttered mind from overstimulation and social experiences, but I feel slightly dizzy and out of control like being pulled in many directions. It feels like my mind is racing, very similar to what other people describe from caffeine or other stimulants. It usually comes with anxiety and a bit of depression about not being able to cope and get back to functional. In the most extreme cases it even feels like my body is morphing. For example, my arm or hand may feel much larger than it really is.

I have tweaked my coping methods over the years. When I was a child (undiagnosed at the time) I would frequently decompress by running the shower and making a mat out of towels to lay on the floor. I didn't know what I was coping with at the time, but I knew if made me feel right. As I learned what I am dealing with I was able to start coping in better ways. What usually helps me is to go into a dedicated room I have created in my house. It is my safe place for stimming or creating any environment that I want. I have filled it with the things that help me like my favorite couch, a TV, sound system, fans, good lighting on a dimmer, etc. Depending on the case I can use these items to bring myself back. Most common is no sound (even as far as noise canceling headphones in an already quiet room), no light/dim light, and lay on the couch or stim. The other thing that helps is the same setup but with loud music that seems to get my system to fall back into normal rhythms. Not sure that the type of music it important (mine happens to be dubstep or house/trance music), but I believe what is important is that the music is familiar and predictable to me.

Sleep works wonders on clearing it out. Sometimes I'll just have to sneak a 1/2hour nap to get rid of it. Or, if I can, I'll talk a walk in the woods, or closest park. I just need to hit the 'reset' button.

I'd classify that 'cluttered' feeling as something very different from 'brain fog'. I get foggy thanks to fibro and it very much feels like your brain is trying to operate in molasses. The 'cluttered' feeling is just too many programs open and running at the same time and it almost feels like they are stuck in a feedback loop. The nap, sleep or nature walk - away from people - lets me shut them down one by one without melting down.