Derry father creates children’s mental health book after 3 year old daughter suffers extreme anxiety in lockdown

Derry, a father of two, Damien Carlin, has used his experience and that of his eldest daughter to help other children suffering from mental health problems.

Damien’s oldest daughter, Aoife, who was three years old at the start of the pandemic, began showing unusual symptoms in April 2020.

Damien explains, “It’s hard to describe, but it was almost like I was experiencing hallucinations along with a complete mental breakdown.

“She always loved going out, but she refused to get out or go anywhere in the car.

“Then she started to get terrified of things she had never felt before, like the air freshener moving in the car or the blinds flapping in the wind. She would panic and all of these symptoms were really sudden in the way that they came on.”

“We contacted our GP who told us to take Aoife directly to Altnagelvin Hospital’s pediatric unit.

“Doctors could not believe that such a young girl, three and a half years old at the time, could have a serious mental health condition and instead assumed she had meningitis or encephalitis.

“This led to Aoife having to undergo a very stressful week of lumbar punctures, MRI, antibiotics, antivirals, blood tests, an additional lumbar puncture under general anesthesia and a stay in the covid ward while they investigated the cause.

“When no physical cause could be found, they basically discharged us and left us on our own.”

As a result of her traumatic time in the hospital, with many tests and procedures looking for a physical cause for her symptoms, Aoife’s condition and anxiety only worsened.

Damien studied everything he could online regarding his daughter’s symptoms and came up with the idea of ​​putting his experience into a children’s book to help her cope with how she felt.

Damien continued: “After the hospital, she was more anxious than ever and now she was almost showing signs of PTSD, she was essentially having a nervous breakdown.

“I came up with the idea of ​​putting her experience into a bedtime story and this had an immediate impact on her emotions and helped her talk about how she felt.

“I changed the name of the little girl in the book to Eva so that Aoife could process it as if it was happening to someone else and that someone else would feel like her; she wasn’t alone.

“The book also helped her process the PTSD-type symptoms she developed as a result of her hospital stay.

“Her ability to speak with us now allowed us to understand that the cause of Aoife’s episode was a mix of lockdown and isolation and added stress from the imminent welcome of a new baby into our family.

“She has come on in leaps and bounds and now she loves being her little sister’s big sister.”

Damien has always been interested in writing and has written poetry and short stories in the past, but never attempted to publish anything.

“My wife Marie encouraged me to try to get the book published in the hope that other children and families could benefit from it in the same way that Aoife has.

“I’ve gotten feedback from other parents saying that the book also helped their little ones and gave their kids the confidence to talk about their feelings, which is great to hear, that’s what it’s all about.

“The book is simply about giving children and adults the courage to speak up. Those feelings are hard enough as an adult, I can’t even begin to imagine trying to process that as a child.

“We are so relieved that she is okay and that our experience as a family can help other young people and their families. It’s a great thing to come out of something so horrible right now.”

You can buy Damien’s book through: Eva Finds Her Smile: Amazon.co.uk: Carlin, Damien: Books

If you or your child have the symptoms discussed, contact your GP.