The Crawling Sensation Won't Stop Even If I Go Inside (Autism Heat Sensitivity)
When I run outside in the heat, I feel a very bothersome sensation on my skin—like something is always crawling on me. Rubbing my shirt or my back helps for a brief period, but it happens every 15-40 seconds and doesn't stop until I go back inside. Even then it still actively persist sometimes, even if it's much less.
For me it’s not the temperature—it’s the sweat and skin sensation that starts once I’m wet. And it seemingly doesn't go away right as I head inside.
The heat sensitivity I experience isn't about temperature preference—it's a tactile sensation I literally can't ignore. It's so persistent that I have multiple silent meltdowns because the sensations just won't let up and they are present everywhere throughout my body.
The Trigger Point
Usually after 10-15 minutes of running outside, I begin to sweat. The crawling sensation starts immediately and takes my focus away from running, so I stop my pace pretty often because of this. I have to stop or slow down significantly just to rub my skin, parts of my hair, and my face. Rinse and repeat roughly every 40 seconds-1 minute and I'm already very exhausted and frustrated.
The Energy Cost
Running outside costs me most of my energy majority of the time. The sensation is persistent throughout the entire hour I'm running and doesn't let up until I go back inside. Even then, it still goes on for a while before eventually slowing down and stopping.
What should be recovery becomes another drain while still in tackling autistic burnout alongside it.
What I've Tried
I've tried running as early as 5:30am. (I wake up at 4:30AM so roughly an hour once a wake up, sometimes earlier. I tried hydrating more. Rubbing my face so sweat doesn't stick to my skin as easily.
This only helped a little bit. It was made clear to me consciously that something on my skin was seriously bothering me.
Running at 5:30am delays the trigger a bit, but once I start sweating, it still hits, which cuts my runs from 1 hour to just 20-35 minutes as I'm rushing to get home to not drain the rest of my energy, let alone have another meltdown.
What Others Don't Notice
I get questioning looks outside when I'm running. Every couple of seconds I have an urgent need to rub my hand against my shoulder or behind my ear.
It's obvious others aren't bothered or sensitive to the same sensations I'm dealing with. Most people don’t react the way I do and treat it as "not being a big deal." Which I don't take offensive off but still feels unfair that I'm dealing with these constant frustrations while I'm making clear efforts to take care of myself.
About Me
I'm Omari, a 23-year-old autistic adult who's been managing chronic burnout for 5+ years while working warehouse shifts.
After a while, it's pretty obvious that I noticed when running outside is draining me more than it should. Especially since I find running outside to be quite regulating and relaxing for me, especially very early in the morning where it's usually pretty quiet. Since the sensations regardless of what I do don't go away, I have to plan (In this case track) my energy baseline before I go running outside that day.
If my energy is low, I wouldn't risk going outside that day and just do strength training outside and just delay going outside to run until I have much higher reserves to work with.
I plan on Launching my app, Spoons, on April 2026. getspoons.app - One email when it's ready. No spam.
— Omari
Note: I'm sharing my personal experience as an autistic adult, not medical advice. If you're experiencing severe burnout or crisis, please consult a healthcare provider familiar with autism.