Boundaries of the mind refers to a postulated personality trait concerning the degree of separateness ("thickness") or connection ("thinness") between mental functions and processes.
[1] It has been postulated that people with thin boundaries tend to confuse fantasy and reality and have a fluid sense of identity, leading them to merge or lose themselves in their relations with others.
[6] Ernest Hartmann proposed that people who suffer frequent nightmares have distinctive personality characteristics which he described as "unguarded", "undefended", "vulnerable", "artistic", and "open".
[8][non-primary source needed] Adherence to new age beliefs and practices, such as yoga, reiki, divination, and astrology, have been linked with thin boundaries as well as with measures of schizotypy and magical thinking.
[7][9][non-primary source needed] New age beliefs and thin boundaries may be related through such shared factors as a sense of "connectedness", holism and emotional sensitivity, as well as a thinking style defined by looseness of association.