All the personalities did not come at the same time, but over the years as the abuse change, she needed additional coping methods.
Dr. Wilbur was able to assist Sybil and being able to dig deep within her to find the personalities that she held within herself. She was not aware of the 16 personalities that she has, she was only aware that she would blackout, find paintings that she had not painted, but they were in her apartment. A few of the people that Dr. Wilbur was able to meet and that were talked about in both movies were Peggy, the little nine year old girl that was angry and could only draw in black and white, because she was not as good of a painter as Sybil. When Dr.Wilbur was able to further investigate what trauma had happened, she was able to find out about her many childhood tortures: a daily routine administered by her mother that involved sharp objects and an enema bag. The treatment of Dr. Wilbur continued for over 11 years and they remained friends after the treatment had ended. The difficultly with the case was at the time, there was little known about the disorder and it was learn as you go, along with the controversy about the disorder, that is still here today with many professionals in the field. Sybil living with her mother and having to endure daily trauma came out when they travelled to Sybil's hometown and was able to talk with her father.
Her mother played the piano and was very nervous that the family needed to add flannel between the plates in the china cabinet so the plates would not rattle. Dr. Wilbur found, after talking with Sybil's fathers that her mother suffered from schizophrenia. Dr. Wilbur asked why he had let her mother raise Sybil; he responded that it is the job of a mother to raise the children. She told him that her mother had devised sadistic "games" that his daughter had to endure. This was in the day that mothers stayed home to care for the children and fathers worked away from the home.
