50 - 55 degrees. It's that temperature that has led to an internal battle. I make sense of the world through organizing everything into seasons and months. That includes outerwear. When it feels like 50 - 55 degrees, I wear a vest with a sweater. That seems simple. Odd to need four, but a lot of people dress like that in 50 - 55 degrees.
Last spring I got two vests that are thin but puffy with a filling. They are for spring and fall. This year, I got Columbia fleece vests for winter and summer. I have a sensory processing disorder. My senses are heightened making it hard to process everything. I need them all to be equal in 50 - 55 degrees. So, I have been asking myself the following:
1. Are they the same thickness? (yes)
2. Am I comfortable in the fleece when I am supposed to be? (yes)
3. Do they have the same warmth value?
That one gets complicated. I have been doing laps around the apartment complex. Barefoot to keep the pace slow. First I do the puffy one then I do the fleece for winter. I gauge if I am warm, comfortable, or cold. Then I wear the fleece vest and do the same. Same time, same exact distance, same weather. It's the kind of experiment that leads to few differentials.
So, why can't I figure it out? I don't expect the warmth value to be identical. But, I kinda do. That's the point, right? To be equally comfortable in both.
Comfort is essential for managing anxiety. In any place in my life I can be comfortable, I make sure I am. How I dress for what the weather is, can make a big difference in comfort!
So, I am finding that the real question is....................am I comfortable enough to not obsess over comfort? No. I have no idea why. I shouldn't be obsessing over this. Because the warmth value might not be exact, but it also might be.
It's all in my head. My sensations are heightened in the fleece. I know what the puffer vest feels like. So I am paying more attention to how the fleece feels. I keep asking myself..........."am I cold now?" So, the message my mind was getting was that I am cold. But, was I really?
So, I changed the question. When I was just a little cold in the fleece, was I also cold in the puffer vest? Answer: yes. Now, my sensations were heightened in both. Expecting to be cold in both. Suddenly, I felt the same?
Why am I still asking myself if they are the same warmth value? Because of a different Columbia vest. I started with the Columbia puffer mighty lite iii vest. I was decidedly colder in that for sure! They are actually great for physical activity. It uses Omni heat technology that works with your body heat to keep you warm. But, I need the vests for every day. Walks in the park or around town as well as talking outside with someone for a half hour. Omni wouldn't work for the less active part. When I wasn't making that much body heat. I kept it for gardening though. I do recommend it for if you are being physical. Like if you are out for a run or hiking.
Maybe that's part of the mind game. One Columbia vest wasn't warm enough, maybe my mind is bracing itself for this one to not be warm enough too. It's the same thickness as the fleece jackets for 40 - 45 degrees. I was comfortable with that. This is the same thing without sleeves.
Finally this afternoon the mind games ended. I did a longer and more diverse test. I asked myself if I was just a little cold in the puffer vest just like I was a little cold in the fleece. I reminded myself about the jackets. With each thought, I got more comfortable.
53 degrees. Smack in the middle of the low 50s. When it somehow is warm and cold at the same time. When you don't need a jacket, but you do need a sweater and/or a vest. When you can be comfortable being outside for a while. However, you really appreciate the heat when you go inside.
The vest thing was complicated because the temperature range is complicated. Is it warm? Is it cool? My senses were heightened. It was hard to get a good read because the influencing factors kept changing. Sometimes twice within a minute.
But, that's 53 degrees.
The fleece vest:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01015OZQ8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The Mighty Lite iii Vest (Omni heat):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018GIN78E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
No comments:
Post a Comment