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1 of 10 © 2024 Katie Linsky Shaw

The Sandwich Generation - Middle aged adults, mostly women, caring for aging parents while raising their own children.

Scan the QR code or click here.

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2 of 10 © 2024 Katie Linsky Shaw

Runaway Brain
Too many thoughts? Hard to quiet the mind?
Scan the QR code or read more here.

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3 of 10 © 2024 Katie Linsky Shaw

Even Means No! - Childhood OCD

To read more about OCD, scan the QR code or click here but only click once. Nothing bad will happen.

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4 of 10 © 2024 Katie Linsky Shaw

This Is Incurable.

(Grieving the loss of parents)
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5 of 10 © 2024 Katie Linsky Shaw

But "They" is Plural!
(A mom's pathetic attempt to understand gender.)

Scan the QR code or click here for more information.

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6 of 10 © 2024 Katie Linsky Shaw

I'm Trying, Mother Nature!

Eco-Anxiety, it's a thing. Scan the QR code or click here to learn more.

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7 of 10 © 2024 Katie Linsky Shaw

What the F*&% Did They Feed Us?!

Food Anxiety, yep, it's also a thing. You are what you eat??? Scan the QR code or click here.

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8 of 10 © 2024 Katie Linsky Shaw

Drowning in Clutter

Does your house cause you stress? Click here...and clean up!

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9 of 10 © 2024 Katie Linsky Shaw

I've Got This, I've Got You...Who's Got Me?!

All People pleasers, please scan the QR code or click here. We know you'll do it. Because you're a pleaser.

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10 of 10 © 2024 Katie Linsky Shaw

Silence.

And finally, a chance to quiet your mind from the chaos of this series. Scan the QR code or click here.

Public Story
Fine Art
Copyright Katie Linsky Shaw 2024
Updated Jul 2023
Topics Spotlight
Artist Statement:

For my self-portrait series, “Why Did No One Tell Me,” I’m reflecting on my mental health in a humorous and approachable way to encourage a more open discussion on a mental health crisis that’s affecting so many in today’s chaotic climate.

This series was influenced by the last three years of my life which have included an emotionally exhausting series of events - my teenage son suffering with mental health which led to hospitalization and therapeutic boarding programs away from home when he was 17; my father - who lived in our backyard apartment so we could care for him following a stroke - being placed in a nursing home during Covid where he died; and my mother dying in my home under my care in January 2023 due to cancer. Two days after losing my mother, I was ready to “jump back into” doing what all mothers do, which is care for others. Then I stopped. I took a deep breath and I thought, what about me? Am I ok? And this series was born.

The series addresses how mental health issues have affected my life from living with OCD as a child to working through grief after losing my mom. Throughout the series, I started to see a recurring theme. The onslaught of information from the Internet and media had negatively influenced my mental health. We’re bombarded daily by headlines, articles and social media posts trying to tell us what to think, convince us what we’re doing wrong and scare us into submission. It’s too much.

I decided to approach the subject with self-deprecating humor to put others at ease. To express the bombardment of information we face daily, each image features a QR code hidden in the frame. The viewer is asked to scan the QR code which will open a web post about the subject.

I hope by exposing my mental health journey in this on-going series, others will be more open about sharing their struggles and will seek help if needed. Most importantly, I want the viewer to understand this - it’s okay to be “not okay.”



Katie Linsky Shaw, Photojournalist based in Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville photojournalist, Freelance photographer and photojournalist based in Asheville, North Carolina available for assignments and breaking news stories
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