Multiple Personality Disorder

Multiple Personality Disorder! Who believes there's such a thing? Anyone know somebody who plays different parts? One minute he's the person you know him to be, the next minute you wonder what's got into him?

I think I know someone who might have MPD...he scares me sometimes. One minute he's nice and generous, the next minute he's strange.

I used to think he just has a screw loose in his head but then I read this book 'The minds of Billy Milligan' by Daniel Keyes and became more conscious of such an ailment. I have heard of it, even watched movies that told stories of people who had it but I didn't grasp it until reading this book...then I realise my friend might just have it.

In Nigeria, we call mental illness, madness or spiritual attacks, 'cos that's the only explanation that sounds plausible to us...but the white man has a name for it, but how right are they?

In Nigeria, sometimes our medical experts find it difficult to diagnose an ailment...when the hospitals don't know what's wrong, our people go the traditional way.

But does Multiple Personality Disorder really exist? Or do extremely sad people looking for escape just give different names to their different personalities?

We all get moody sometimes. We fight, cry, get angry, get violent, get nice, friendly, bitchy, polite, rude etc, does it mean we have different personalities living inside us? Maybe! But we are still whole, and are conscious of what we do and say but there are those who can't handle reality.

Or are they just simply crazy?

Case study: Billy Milligan
Billy Milligan had 24 personalities in him. The first appeared when he was only 3yrs old and 22 others were created between that time till he turned 22, when he was arrested for armed robbery and the rape of three women.

One of his lesbian personalities supposedly raped the three girls and the core him, Billy, didn't even remember the crimes and he went on to be the first person to be found not guilty of a crime on the grounds of insanity due to multiple personality disorder in the State of Ohio, in the late 70's.

Billy's personalities
The initial list of ten, with their ages, paraphrased here from Daniel Keyes's book:
William Stanley Milligan "Billy", age 26, the core personality.
Arthur, 22. The Englishman
Ragen Vadascovinich, 23. The keeper of hate.
Allen, 18. The con man.
Tommy, 16. The escape artist.
Danny, 14. The frightened one.
David, 8. The keeper of pain.
Christene, 3. The corner child
Christopher, 13. Obedient but troubled
Adalana, 19. The lesbian
There were also personalities classed as "Undesirables" by the personality in charge. These personalities were deemed to have unworthy qualities and would not hold Billy's consciousness.
Philip, 20. The thug.
Kevin, 20. The planner.
Walter, 22. The Australian.
April, 19. The bitch.
Samuel, 18. The wandering Jew.
Mark, 16. The workhorse.
Steve, 21. The perpetual imposter.
Lee, 20. The comedian.
Jason, 13. The pressure valve.
Robert, 17. The daydreamer.
Shawn, 4. The deaf one.
Martin, 19. The snob.
Timothy, 15.
There is also the personality known as The Teacher, from whom the other personalities all learned their specialities, and who is the integration of all other personalities and the one true Billy

Can anyone shed more light on this topic. How do you help someone you think might have it? What triggers it? Is this ailment real or just a figment of some people's imagination?