The failure to form a distinct personality can thus be seen as a way of coping with or escaping from inner conflict, which in turn is frequently triggered by some trauma experienced early in life, such as being abused as a child. That doesn't rule out a number as high as 23, however; the highest number ever recorded in the medical community is around 4500, and the average number identified by medical professionals in the last few decades lies around 16. It is unknown when or how Louis died. There are several potential causes for these compartmentalized personalities. Kevin's case is identified in the film as being severe, so 23 (or 24, after the emergence of his new personality) is a fairly believable number. When able to walk, Louis loved wine and would regularly steal food from others.

Dissociative identity disorder, once called multiple personality disorder, results in two or more split identities.

Louis’s mother took out her frustrations on the child, abusing him both mentally and physically, leading to Louis being afflicted with attacks of hysteria and temporal paralysis from a young age. KUWTK: Kylie Shares & Deletes Post Backing Joe Biden Amid Kanye's Campaign. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film, SPLIT, about three girls taken captive by a man suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, is in theaters now, and having just walked out of it, I can safely say I think it is worth your time, but I’m not here to review the movie, and I’m not looking to spoil any of it, so you can read this without worrying that I will ruin the movie for you. As the personality emerges, Kevin takes on animalistic traits and gains abilities that wouldn't be physically possible if there wasn't some artistic license involved. He became ill again and spent eighteen months in an asylum at St. George. Honestly, pretty realistic. Louis became a troublesome patient, starting fights, and trying to escape on multiple occasions. Posted Dec 15, 2017

I’m not smart enough to say either way. While the disorder has been studied for well over a hundred years, there is no consensus on how to properly diagnose the issue, or how to treat it. Newer personalities often have no memories of childhood, while the core personality may have gaps of hours, days or longer while other personalities were dominant. Some might feel that this is one of the first missteps in the film, with Kevin having 23 distinct personalities.

Neither version of Louis had memories of the other. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Split personality is not a real thing, but it IS a real thing at the same time. The hospital staff found that, when paralyzed, Louis was calm and genteel, but when able to walk he was a dick, becoming a thief as …

Today it is believed that he had no more than two, with the other personalities being a direct result from hypnosis by his therapists.

While there is some ongoing discussion in the medical community regarding exactly what the symptoms of DID (formerly known as multiple personality disorder) is or how it should be diagnosed, the general idea of the condition is that the mind creates separate personality patterns with their own memories and mindsets. There are two very important elements to this question.

How realistic is the variety of his personalities? Treatment is aimed at integrating the disparate personalities back into a single and unified personality. This obviously isn't the case during the film as the different personalities seem completely pretty aware of what the others were doing, but the scene in question stretches credibility even further. Yes she changes completely but in the last six years many of the less useful personalities have integrated or simply been forgotten. The go-to source for comic book and superhero movie fans. The number of personalities, the differences between them and even the creation of a personality with animal or mythological aspects are all possibilities based on reported cases of individuals with DID. The personalities are typically compartmentalized, segregating them and their experiences from each other. Many people with DID develop different types of personalities, with some being used as an escape (like Hedwig) and others as more defensive (Dennis) or protective (Patricia).

Each of these personalities may alternately inhabit the person’s conscious awareness to the exclusion of the others.