Tala Ciatti | Wit & Delight | Designing a Life Well-Lived https://witanddelight.com/author/tala/ A Lifestyle Blog Sat, 09 Oct 2021 19:01:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 Bird by Bird: On Taking Small Action https://witanddelight.com/2020/05/bird-by-bird-on-taking-small-action/ Sat, 30 May 2020 15:00:00 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=56283 Many of us (myself included) have learned from personal experience that overwhelm can often lead to paralysis and inaction, whether in regard to work or personal to-do lists or civic duty.

Today we're sharing an article originally penned by mental health counselor Tala Ciatti in 2016. In it, Tala writes about the important impact small practices and small actions can make in our lives.

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]]> When Father’s Day is Different for You https://witanddelight.com/2019/06/when-fathers-day-is-different-for-you/ Sun, 16 Jun 2019 15:00:38 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=42283 Today is Father's Day, and we felt it an apt time to share this post contributor Tala Ciatti wrote in 2017. In it, she writes about how we can approach this holiday when our relationship with our own dad isn't ideal, or is just... different.

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]]> On the Therapeutic Power of Writing https://witanddelight.com/2017/09/therapeutic-power-writing/ https://witanddelight.com/2017/09/therapeutic-power-writing/#comments Mon, 25 Sep 2017 15:00:16 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=24354 “Coming to terms with the reality of a situation doesn’t just mean you understand or accept it. To come to terms with something, you must quite literally be able to put it into words.” And with that declaration, the scattered college professor was cemented in my memory as a Real Teacher. Two sentences cleared up one cliché […]

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]]> https://witanddelight.com/2017/09/therapeutic-power-writing/feed/ 10 Making the Most of Summer’s Awkward Social Opportunities https://witanddelight.com/2017/07/summers-awkward-social-opportunities/ https://witanddelight.com/2017/07/summers-awkward-social-opportunities/#comments Wed, 12 Jul 2017 14:00:11 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=22803 School’s out. Weather is warm. Government holidays are smattered across the schedule. So what are we gonna do? Gather with people we barely know! How are we gonna do it? Briefly and without adequate follow up that could lead to less awkward meetings in the future! What is it that keeps us calendaring the extended family […]

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]]> https://witanddelight.com/2017/07/summers-awkward-social-opportunities/feed/ 10 When Father’s Day is Different for You https://witanddelight.com/2017/06/fathers-day-different-for-you/ https://witanddelight.com/2017/06/fathers-day-different-for-you/#comments Fri, 16 Jun 2017 15:00:32 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=22801 It’s hard to find the right words to explain a day of public celebration and personal dread. (If Hallmark knew them, we could purchase them from tiered displays with labels like “Daddy Issues.”) What do you do on holidays when holidays are hard? When your relationship with your dad isn’t what you hoped, what do you do on […]

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]]> https://witanddelight.com/2017/06/fathers-day-different-for-you/feed/ 5 The Good Enough Mother https://witanddelight.com/2017/05/good-enough-mother/ https://witanddelight.com/2017/05/good-enough-mother/#comments Fri, 19 May 2017 15:00:06 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=22641 Let’s make a list of things that are generally difficult or uncomfortable but still widely accepted. I’ll start: Spaghetti noodles. Pantyhose. Fitted sheets. Critical feedback. The one I’m thinking of today: Parenting. The pressures that come with child rearing can be crushing – and not always in a happy “carbon materials into diamond” kind of […]

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]]> https://witanddelight.com/2017/05/good-enough-mother/feed/ 3 More than Pretty: Why Beauty Matters https://witanddelight.com/2017/04/beauty-matters/ https://witanddelight.com/2017/04/beauty-matters/#comments Mon, 17 Apr 2017 15:41:04 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=22251 When I was “finding myself” after college (and a little lost and lonely), I bought a book called Living a Beautiful Life. I sat on my combination futon/bed (which did a horrible job at both of its primary tasks) in my overpriced, aging apartment in the D.C. metro area and searched the pages. Author Alexandra […]

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]]> https://witanddelight.com/2017/04/beauty-matters/feed/ 6 You Don’t Have to Find Your Passion to Have a Fulfilling Career https://witanddelight.com/2017/03/career-passion/ https://witanddelight.com/2017/03/career-passion/#comments Tue, 28 Mar 2017 15:47:22 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=21981 “If I’m good at _____ and passionate about _____ what career should I have, how does it pay and where do I apply?”  I typed a version of this into my browser, grateful that no one could see me. I was awake in the dark hours when birds start chirping on the wrong side of the […]

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]]> https://witanddelight.com/2017/03/career-passion/feed/ 9 Forget Halfway; Meet Yourself All the Way https://witanddelight.com/2017/01/forget-halfway-meet-way/ https://witanddelight.com/2017/01/forget-halfway-meet-way/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2017 19:08:47 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=21570 Our month-long conversation about what it means to “Love Thy Selfie” has both piqued my interest and made me tired. I sat at the keyboard too long before admitting that I was tangled up in definitions of self-esteem, self-image, self-compassion, self-knowledge…all of this. I was confusing know thyself with treat yo self, and I was […]

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]]> https://witanddelight.com/2017/01/forget-halfway-meet-way/feed/ 8 Beautiful Strange New Room: Life in the Postpartum Period https://witanddelight.com/2016/12/beautiful-strange-new-room-life-postpartum-period/ https://witanddelight.com/2016/12/beautiful-strange-new-room-life-postpartum-period/#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2016 16:00:32 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=21265 For me, I put my personal history in two buckets: before baby and after baby. So much about my emotional life has changed, both good and bad. I’ve found patience, a respect for my physical and mental limitations, and a renewed feeling of intimacy with my partner. But I have also encountered the darkness of postpartum depression, the […]

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]]> https://witanddelight.com/2016/12/beautiful-strange-new-room-life-postpartum-period/feed/ 16 To Be Held https://witanddelight.com/2016/09/to-be-held/ https://witanddelight.com/2016/09/to-be-held/#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2016 15:30:19 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=20385 It’s often said we cannot “go it alone.” We all need someone to believe in us, to stand by our side when we’re not our best self, to lift you up. It’s just as important to know when to let go. Today’s post from Mental Health contributor Tala Ciatti examines our universal need for one […]

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]]> https://witanddelight.com/2016/09/to-be-held/feed/ 9 Making Space for What’s In and Around https://witanddelight.com/2016/07/making-space-whats-around/ https://witanddelight.com/2016/07/making-space-whats-around/#comments Mon, 25 Jul 2016 15:00:15 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=20210 When Tala and I first spoke via email, she explained she was a new mom who had left her job in mental health to stay home with her baby boy. She had just moved to a new city and was looking for ways to be an active part of something outside of home. Her note to […]

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]]> https://witanddelight.com/2016/07/making-space-whats-around/feed/ 6 Summertime Sadness https://witanddelight.com/2016/06/summertime-sadness/ https://witanddelight.com/2016/06/summertime-sadness/#comments Wed, 29 Jun 2016 15:33:26 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=19908 When Lana Del Ray’s song came out, the year 2006 flashed before my eyes. I had just graduated college and moved to Minneapolis with a car full of clothes and no furniture after breaking up with my boyfriend of 2 years. This was the beginning of my silent, personal struggle with depression and anxiety, and it would take […]

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]]> https://witanddelight.com/2016/06/summertime-sadness/feed/ 8 Bird by Bird: On Taking Small Action https://witanddelight.com/2016/05/bird-bird-taking-small-action/ https://witanddelight.com/2016/05/bird-bird-taking-small-action/#comments Tue, 31 May 2016 15:41:41 +0000 https://witanddelight.com/?p=19753 When I first started Wit & Delight, it was strictly a hobby. Something I did for myself when I wasn’t sure who I was, what kind of life I wanted to build, or even what clothes I wanted to be wearing. Last spring, I wanted to reevaluate what I was doing and the direction I was […]

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