Published on 12, July, 2020
I have problems with being able to tell what my body is feeling in general, usually in terms of just feeling uncomfortable instead of knowing that I'm too warm or whatever. This is particularly a problem around this time of year, where we've moved past winter and into the bit where you need to decide if it's too hot for a jacket or too cold for shorts.
Like this morning I woke up feeling really uncomfortable and I have no idea if that was because it's gotten too warm for my spring/autumn duvet or if I'm having a period of bad anxiety (which is very scary to me because of past experiences). Same if I'm sitting on the sofa and it's too warm for jeans and a hoodie. I've had a few mental health disasters (which I now know might have been meltdowns or shutdowns or whatever; I'm newly diagnosed so still trying to figure out how my experiences line up with autistic terms), and they've always been around this time of year. I wonder if my body struggling to deal with the temperature changing so much so quickly has contributed to the times when my brain has just collapsed.
My difficulty isn't with determining if I'm feeling too hot or too cold, but more with sudden changes in temperature. For example, I recently ventured out to visit someone on what had been a warm and sunny day, wearing a T-shirt and unzipped hoodie. I felt just right (not too hot, nor too cold). However, the temperature had dropped by the time I was making my way home, causing me to feel uncomfortably cold and regret leaving my winter jacket at home.
I'm aware that if there has been a spell of consistently warm/hot days, followed by a drop in temperature by several degrees, it seems to send my body into a state of flux. The same is true for me when a spell of consistently cold days is followed by an increase in temperature.
Because the weather (and temperature) can sometimes be unpredictable, I can find it difficult to decide what to wear if I need to venture out. Do I take my jacket just in case, knowing full well that I might end up carrying it the whole time? Or, do I leave it at home and risk getting soaked in an unexpected torrential downpour?
I believe my own issues relating to the weather/temperature and what to wear are shared by neurotypicals. What I don't know is if they experience changes in temperature to quite the same extent as autistic people seem to.
Take a risk for leaving your coat at home.