When Dawn Taylor walks down the street
hand in hand with her two young sons, she
looks like any other devoted mum. But Dawn,
31, is not like other mothers. She has multiple
personalities - an astonishing 22 of them.
Each personality has its own voice, traits and
mannerisms. They can come and go up to 10 times
a day, changing without warning in a split second.
They include brothel keeper Madam Taylor, five-
year-old schoolgirl Daisy, PC World worker Mary,
60, and aggressive teenager Lashes. There are also
a millionaire, Scottish sandwich shop owner,
Cornish farm girl, German speaker and a gangsta
rapper.
"I feel like I spend half my life drunk," says Dawn,
who cannot recall what happens when another
personality takes over.
"At the time I think I am in control. To me, I am
just me, whether that's Daisy, Mary or even
Madam Taylor. But when I wake up and can't
remember a thing the terror sets in."
Dawn, who lives with long-term partner Dean, 36,
and their children Connor, 10, and seven-year-old
Troy, was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity
Disorder (DID) - also known as Multiple Personality
Disorder - in June.
It followed years of erratic behaviour, which
started with depression after Connor's birth.
Dawn, of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, says: "It's like the
other personalities are trying to get me into
trouble. Some of them hate Dean and make me
say spiteful things to him, even though I love him
dearly.
"I found text messages to a friend in my sent-box,
telling her I was outside her house and that I was
going to hurt her. I had to call and apologise and
tell her it was someone else. I felt awful.
"Other personalities even hate the real me. Once I
woke up to find a swear word cut on my thigh.
"The scissors were in my hand and there was
blood everywhere. I couldn't remember doing it.
"The only saving grace is that they all love my
children. But that doesn't stop me worrying about
what one of them might do."
Anguished Dawn says: "I just want to be a normal
mum."
The former model, who cannot work because of
her condition, adds: "Sometimes, simple things I
do as Dawn are a major problem for the other
personalities.
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"I used to cycle everywhere but once I was riding
through town with Troy in a seat on the back.
Connor was riding in front when suddenly I
switched into little Daisy, who can't cycle. I lost all
ability to ride, smashed into Connor and we all fell
off. A few weeks ago I came round and was
hanging upside down from a tree in the back
garden.
"It sounds funny but it was terrifying. One of my
child personalities must have climbed up there but
when I snapped out of it I couldn't get down."
Dawn - who takes sedatives, mood stabilisers and
anti-depressants to control her condition - is used
to people laughing at her and tries to be
philosophical about it.
She says: "One of the teenage girl personalities
does cheer-leading. I have woken up in the town
centre surrounded by people clapping after I have
done a routine. My sons think it's funny so I try to
laugh along but for me it's really embarrassing.
"The boys can take advantage, too. I have one
personality they call Rich Lady, who seems to think
she has a huge fortune.
"When she comes out they make me buy them
expensive toys and sweets. When I snap back I
realise what they've done.
"I woke up once in the living room surrounded by
boxes of Lego, computer games and consoles they
had made her buy."
But life wasn't always like this. Dean, who met
Dawn when she was 18, recalls: "She was a ­
beautiful model, full of fun and confidence. We
were so in love.
"Then after Connor was born, we were driving
down the road one day when she wound down the
window and started shouting abuse at someone
walking by.
"It was out of character and I asked what she was
doing. She looked at me like I was mad. She
couldn't remember a thing."
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Doctors at first suspected Tourette's syndrome,
but the fact that Dawn couldn't remember her
outbursts suggested something more serious.
Her erratic behaviour began to take on a pattern.
Dean says: "The first personality to emerge was ­
Lashes. One day after an outburst, I called her
Dawn and she told me that wasn't her name.
"Gradually, Lashes came out as a very angry
teenage girl who didn't like me. I would get texts
telling me I was useless.
"She told me she hated me and warned me not to
come home from work.
"More personalities started to appear. Sometimes
Mary arrives. She works in PC World and wakes up
at 5am and tells me she has to go do a stock-take. I
try to convince her she doesn't work there.
"When I ask how she is going to get to the shop,
she doesn't know where it is, becomes very
confused and comes back to bed.
"Other times she is Daisy, who sits on the floor and
draws for hours. There are other children and
when Dawn is one of them, her handwriting is like
a child's.
"Another of the personalities speaks German -
which Dawn only learnt briefly at school.
"Then there is Madam Taylor, who owns a brothel.
I tried to explain to Madam Taylor that she is
actually Dawn.
"Now I ignore her because the doctors think the
more you interact with the other personalities, the
stronger they get. Some are far stronger than
others and emerge much more regularly.
"It was scary at first but gradually the personalities
have become part of my life. It's like living with 22
different people. Some smoke and even like cigars
even though Dawn has never smoked."
The illness has taken its toll on the couple's love
life.
Dean says: "My mates joke that it must be
amazing, getting to go to bed with 22 different
women.
"But what about when I go to bed with a brothel
madam, then part way through she switches to a
five-year-old child? I'm lost. I love Dawn but what
we have isn't a relationship any more, it's a way of
life - survival.
"I could never leave her or my boys but this illness
has taken away the woman I fell in love with.
People ask if I hope to get her back. Of course I do.
I have to, otherwise I would go mad."
Dawn has just one session with a consultant
psychiatrist every three months.
The drugs ease the problem but she has been told
there is no proven cure.
Analytical psychotherapist who has treated people
with Dawn's condition for 25 years, said: "Less
than one per cent of the population suffers from
DID but many are misdiagnosed with depression
or other conditions."
Mr Aquarone, former president of the European
Society for Trauma and Dissociation, said: "The
most separate personalities I have seen in one
person is 12, so Dawn's case is extreme.
"She is in desperate need of regular and sustained ­
psychotherapy at least once a week. It is very
difficult to get this kind of help on the NHS."
Dawn's alter egos
THE REAL DAWN: A lovely 31-year old who is a
loving mother to Troy and Connor.
LASHES: This troubled teenager has a volatile
temper and swears a lot. She sends Dean scary
texts trying to break off their relationship.
TIGER-LILY and TIGER-LOU: Related girls a
similar age to Dawn and closest to her own
personality. Dawn's family are often the only ones
who can tell when she is in one of these
characters.
DAISY: A five-year-old girl who loves colouring and
spends hours using Troy and Connor's crayons.
She is Troy's favourite personality because she
likes to play with the boys.
PHOENIX: This six-year-old is obsessed with
building Lego and SpongeBob SquarePants - even
though it's a family joke that Dawn can't stand
either.
MARY: A 60-year-old shop assistant who was
made redundant from her job at office suppliers
Staples and now works at PC World. She was
devastated when she read in the local paper that
the local branch was closing down.
FARM GIRL: Young agricultural worker who claims
she has a combine harvester and talks to the
children about farm animals.
MADAM TAYLOR: An older woman who keeps a
brothel. She drove past a derelict building and said
it would be the perfect place for her "girls" to do
their trade.
LADY DAWNY: Millionaire who spends
uncontrollably and showers her family with gifts.
She once spent the whole weekly budget on Lego
and games consoles for the boys.
SAPPHIRE: She is a pyromaniac who has an
obsession with red cigarette lighters. Once she
even set fire to real money in the wood burner in
the back garden.
CHAV: A girl who calls everyone "Chaz" - including
her children, partner and friends - and has a
strong London accent.
STORE BOSS: Scottish sandwich shop owner who
wakes Dean in the middle of the night to make
deliveries and pick up ingredients.
GERMAN: A woman who switches to speaking her
native language in mid-conversation and gets
frustrated when her family can't understand her.
YOUNGSTERS: These include a gangsta rapper
who talks in ghetto rhymes and four children too
shy to give their names. One likes to jump in the
paddling pool fully clothed. And there are three
teens who self-harm and send threatening texts to
Dawn's friends.