When Did I Stop Taking Selfies?

By Ashley Barnes, LPC

When life shifts and you fall out of focus.

Recently, I realized that I don’t take pictures of myself anymore.
There was a time when MY ENTIRE camera roll consisted of me, my adventures, and food! I had the capacity, literally and figueratively.

Somewhere along the way, I slipped out of the frame. Now when I scroll through my camera roll, it’s filled with my kids, family, or random little memories I was able to capture.

I didn’t notice it at first. Life just started moving faster. Responsibilities added up. And before I knew it, I became the one behind the camera — organizing, managing, supporting — capturing everyone else’s life but my own.

My POV: Why This Happens

How easy it is to lose ourselves and dissappear when life stretches us thin. This message isn’t about vanity or even time. It’s about internal visibility.

When you go through transitions — becoming a mom, starting a new job, going through loss, or even growing in and out of roles/titles — your focus shifts. You start pouring (externally) into everything and everyone around you, and in the process, you forget to turn that same attention inward.

How this happens

I see this a lot — especially in women. It happens when you start viewing yourself through the eyes of others rather than from within.

Over time, that quiet, subtle shift becomes significant and slowly disconnects you from yourself. You stop prioritizing your own image, your own story, because your mind begins to equate worth with what you do for others instead of who you are.

Get back in the picture.

Not just in your photos, but in your priorities, your reflections, your own story.

Because the world deserves to see you, and more importantly, you deserve it too.