In a pilot study investigating sensory processing problems in clients at a mental health facility in Cornwall, conducted by psychiatrists Stephen Brown and Rohit Shankar and occupational therapist Kathryn Smith, all eight diagnosed with borderline personality had severe sensory defensiveness. The authors propose that the defensiveness may have been the driving force for many of their symptoms, including emotional volatility, avoidance during therapy sessions that often escalated to depersonalization, and rampant substance abuse. Sensory defensiveness elicits the fight/flight response.

Information taken from Uptight & Off Center.