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 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.
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.
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?