Multiple personality is a rather rare disorder in which a person appears as completely different personalities, performs some actions and deeds, but at the same time it often happens that one part of his personality does not know the others and cannot remember what he did. So, in one person, several characters can coexist at once, who wake up at a certain moment, somehow manifest themselves, and then are supplanted by others. Memory of each other is often absent or severely distorted.
Billy Milligan is the only patient whose multiple personality has been confirmed in court by four psychiatrists and a psychologist. For this reason, he was acquitted of some serious crimes. Everything that accompanied this strange story is unusual.
Experts watched Milligan for a long time, examined parts of his personality, tried to help him, made some conclusions, doubted, hoped and, in the end, achieved partial remission. Daniel Keyes made Billy Milligan famous all over the world, collecting all the research about him and releasing a work called: "The Multiple Minds of Billy Milligan."
So, in a man named William Stanley Milligan there were 24 parts of his personality. They were very different. Some of them knew about the existence of others, others did not. They were men and women with completely different characters, temperaments, mentality, and even sexual orientation. The age of the different individuals ranged from 4 (the smallest) to 26 years. Some parts of his personality were completely social and law-abiding, while others were distinguished by asociality, the ability to commit a crime and harm others.
Actually, the last parts of his personality manifested themselves in such a way that he ended up in the police on charges of robbery and several rapes, and then in the psychiatric ward, where specialists in the relevant field tried to understand what was happening in this unusual person.
Daniel Keyes describes all 24 parts of Billy Milligan. Here are some of the parts of the personality described: One of the parts - Arthur, 22 years old, English, reasonable, level-headed, has a slight British accent. Studies medicine and chemistry, conservative, atheist. If the situation does not involve risk, he can lead and decide which of the other parts can manifest itself at the moment.
The other part is Reygen Vadaskovinich, 23 years old. He considers himself the Keeper of Hatred. I even came up with a name consisting of two words (Ragen = rage + again - rage again). Yugoslav, speaks English with a Slavic accent. Masterfully owns weapons, karate, has great strength. This part of the personality considers itself an atheist and a communist. She considers her vocation to be the protector of other parts ("family"), as well as women and children. Wakes up conscious in dangerous situations. Characteristically criminal, somewhat sadistically cruel behavior.
The unusualness of the situation is manifested in the fact that one person can be unexpectedly displaced by another for no reason. And then the behavior changes literally from scratch. A minute ago, you can talk with an assertive and aggressive person, but now he is already an anxiously suspicious teenager, asking for protection and patronage. It was after such strange reincarnations that many considered and still consider Billy a talented actor who managed to fool psychiatrists and psychologists with an excellent game of reincarnation. However, there are many more specialists and scientists who have found numerous evidence in favor of a mental disorder, rather than talented acting manifestations. The doctors were able to understand how the abuse he received as a child split his personality into many isolated fragments.
The story of Billy Milligan ends with several years in a high security psychiatric ward, he is transferred to a clinic for his disorder at the Athens Mental Health Center. He was still split, that is, it was possible to communicate with his different personalities, but not with the whole Billy himself. He was still subject to the restrictions imposed by the court. Residents of the surrounding areas were against the fact that Milligan would be held in less harsh conditions.
One newspaper article announcing his translation ended with the following message: “We are not asking to welcome Billy with open arms, but we hope for your understanding. This is the least of what he deserves."