As you can imagine the subject of grief is something I am asked about on a regular basis. I guess you could say it’s part of the job description really, it comes with the territory. But what if I told you grief could be the very thing shutting down that longed for connection with your loved one?

There’s no doubt about it – grief is a bitch! OK. Grief is a really tough emotion to deal with because it never really goes away. That’s the really hard part.

The way I visualise grief myself is that it’s like a great big hallway with many doors. These doors represent the myriad of memories you have of your loved one. It’s a bit of a gamble when you open one of these doors because you never really know how you are going to feel. You may open one door and feel happy and be able to smile at the memory, while another door on another day could be so painful you dissolve into tears.

So, there’s no doubt it’s a tricky thing to deal with.

The strong...