Palo Alto, California (CNN) Christine Blasey Ford, the professor accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of having sexually assaulted her when he was in high school, has previously told friends that the alleged encounter from more than 30 years ago has had a lasting effect on her life.

Two longtime friends of Ford's told CNN this week that she has previously described feeling uncomfortable -- even struggling -- when she is in enclosed spaces without an "escape route" or more than one exit door, and suggested that this discomfort stemmed from the alleged encounter with Kavanaugh.

According to Ford, she was forced into a bedroom at a house party, where Kavanaugh and a friend were "stumbling drunk," and Kavanaugh groped her and tried to remove her clothes. The door was locked from the inside, and at one point, Ford said he put his hand over her mouth so her sounds would be muffled. She said she was eventually able to escape. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.

Kate DeVarney, a neuroscientist who has known Ford for about 13 years, said in an interview Thursday that through their years of friendship, DeVarney knew Ford "really has a hard time being in a place where there's no escape route."

This was the reason that Ford did not enjoy flying, DeVarney said -- an airplane was "the ultimate closed space where you cannot get away."

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