Reading posts like this makes me painfully aware just how neurodivergent I am.
It took me until... late twenties? to understand that most people _aren't_ feeling physically uncomfortable in anything long sleeved (or with long pant legs), and that they're just more... patient? tolerant than I am?
It just straight up isn't an inconvenience to other people!
I am very, very, very glad I have a career (and live in a climate) that lets me get away with shorts and short sleeves on 99,9% of days.
I consider myself "neurotypical", and have been working from home for a while now not getting any younger.
I don't even bother with clothing at all sometimes. It's also nice to shower midday and cook all my own meals. It's very nice to skip daily driving. It's amazing to not be too exhausted keep my home clean.
My point is, don't assume that neurotypical people aren't carrying at least some amount of stress from the things that bother you. It's just clearly a lot less stress.
You’re not neurodivergent, wtf people self diagnose like this as if it were some great discovery about themselves. Here’s another discovery you may not have made yet: we cannot know what others feel inside, even when they claim to tell us… they will just say what they think they should say or you want to hear. Revealing your inner thoughts is extremely difficult for most people, neurodivergent or not. Guessing others feelings about things also.
It's not the point of being right or wrong, it's the point of default expectations of your body not matching factory settings of the environment configured for default expectations of other people.
The autistic community embraces self-diagnosis for lots of reasons (off the top of my head):
- it can be hard for autistic people to even go see a specialist
- lots of autistic people have traumas related to being diagnosed wrongly and receiving bad treatment as a result
Yeah you as a random person online probably know more about the inner working of this random person you reply to in some online forum than they do themselves
I don’t think I’m Neurodivergent, but I hate long sleeves, too. And short sleeves, I like long sleeve shirts with the cuffs rolled or pushed up to the elbows.
Side-effect of being very tall and outgrowing shirts quickly as a youth.
Lol, I grew up in a place with miserably hot and muggy summers, but I was very self-conscious of my skinny legs because someone made a weird comment one single time, so I almost never wore shorts through all my teenage years.
I eventually got over that, but now I live in a much cooler climate where shorts aren't really expected, even in the warmer seasons, and I'm grateful because I do feel more comfortable with pants (and long sleeves, for that matter).
Different strokes/neuro-eccentricities for different folks!
I have similar sensory issues with long pants and long sleeved shirts. I have avoided wearing a long sleeve shirt nearly entirely (I actually can handle dress shirts somehow) for decades now.
It really sucks. I have similar problems with room temperature. If I'm too hot or sweaty it's extremely difficult to focus on work.
The worst part is that my air temperature tolerance isn't, like, coherent. In the summer I'm far too hot at 72 degrees and have to run the AC more than is reasonable. Then during the winter I am far too cold at 72 degrees. It's very silly. I tend to forget how much this affects me, and delay turning on the heat in the fall for too long, and just kind of struggle for a while without realizing it.
Some unsolicited advice couched as experience that may or may not help you:
I struggled with this off and on for years, and still do if I don't take some specific actions. They aren't a total fix but they help.
Turn off the air handling in your house and open it up at one point in the day, preferably a few hours opposite of the seasonal trend (early morning in the summer and early afternoon in the winter). During this time go take a decently long walk in appropriate clothes. When you come back close back up and set the thermostat to whatever the temperature cycled to.
This tends to work to shift seasons more naturally as well. If its hot outside it will feel cooler inside even if the temp went up a degree, and this compounds all season. The reverse is true in the fall/winter.
If I don't do this I struggle very similarly to you all year.
I myself have got very little problem with fabric on my arms or legs in general. The problem is, of course, temperature. Without any sort of reference to suits that are short sleeved, short legged, and a single layer of fabric, it feels like the article is just way off base. It's great that the author has found something he enjoys. But there are many reasons why others don't share his enthusiasm.
I am exactly the same way. This year I had to attend a wedding during the heat wave in Germany (no AC anywhere). It was a sensory nightmare. Other guests seemed to just tank it or even somehow enjoy the weather…
Do you have sensory issues with specific fabrics as well? I have the same issues with long sleeves and it’s made much worse when it’s polyester. I can tolerate loose long sleeved cotton/linen pants much better.
Anything "scratchy" like real wool is right out immediately, and I can tolerate some knit cotton or linen longsleeves better than other fabrics, but nothing is "comfortable" per se.
klausa · · focus · HN ↗
It took me until... late twenties? to understand that most people _aren't_ feeling physically uncomfortable in anything long sleeved (or with long pant legs), and that they're just more... patient? tolerant than I am?
It just straight up isn't an inconvenience to other people!
I am very, very, very glad I have a career (and live in a climate) that lets me get away with shorts and short sleeves on 99,9% of days.
sublinear · · focus · HN ↗
I don't even bother with clothing at all sometimes. It's also nice to shower midday and cook all my own meals. It's very nice to skip daily driving. It's amazing to not be too exhausted keep my home clean.
My point is, don't assume that neurotypical people aren't carrying at least some amount of stress from the things that bother you. It's just clearly a lot less stress.
brabel · · focus · HN ↗
klausa · · focus · HN ↗
I have paperwork from three different countries disagreeing with you, but thanks for your concern :)
Muromec · · focus · HN ↗
maleldil · · focus · HN ↗
Yet you confidently decided that they're not neurodivergent based on a comment?
mgrandl · · focus · HN ↗
- it can be hard for autistic people to even go see a specialist - lots of autistic people have traumas related to being diagnosed wrongly and receiving bad treatment as a result
jaapz · · focus · HN ↗
drivingmenuts · · focus · HN ↗
Side-effect of being very tall and outgrowing shirts quickly as a youth.
UtopiaPunk · · focus · HN ↗
I eventually got over that, but now I live in a much cooler climate where shorts aren't really expected, even in the warmer seasons, and I'm grateful because I do feel more comfortable with pants (and long sleeves, for that matter).
Different strokes/neuro-eccentricities for different folks!
mrguyorama · · focus · HN ↗
It really sucks. I have similar problems with room temperature. If I'm too hot or sweaty it's extremely difficult to focus on work.
The worst part is that my air temperature tolerance isn't, like, coherent. In the summer I'm far too hot at 72 degrees and have to run the AC more than is reasonable. Then during the winter I am far too cold at 72 degrees. It's very silly. I tend to forget how much this affects me, and delay turning on the heat in the fall for too long, and just kind of struggle for a while without realizing it.
CobaltFire · · focus · HN ↗
I struggled with this off and on for years, and still do if I don't take some specific actions. They aren't a total fix but they help.
Turn off the air handling in your house and open it up at one point in the day, preferably a few hours opposite of the seasonal trend (early morning in the summer and early afternoon in the winter). During this time go take a decently long walk in appropriate clothes. When you come back close back up and set the thermostat to whatever the temperature cycled to.
This tends to work to shift seasons more naturally as well. If its hot outside it will feel cooler inside even if the temp went up a degree, and this compounds all season. The reverse is true in the fall/winter.
If I don't do this I struggle very similarly to you all year.
Maybe that can help you?
mindslight · · focus · HN ↗
mgrandl · · focus · HN ↗
mgrandl · · focus · HN ↗
klausa · · focus · HN ↗