Greetings, greetings everyone. Welcome to Radio Headspace. My name is Keisonga and it's Friday.

Before we start today's episode, I just want to note that I'll be discussing the topic

of death, so please use your discretion before listening. With that said, this week I've

taken the opportunity to answer some of the questions that y'all sent my way. We'll close

out the week with the following inquiry. So I've been talking to this wonderful woman online

for six months. We met on a dating site and live on different sides of the country.

After our second date, she told me a really close friend of hers, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend,

had just died in a tragic car accident. Things have been a little weird since, but I get that she's

grieving her friend's death. She's also recently mentioned feeling weird about the distance between us.

I'm going to visit her next week and stay for the week. I really want to be present with her,

and not worry or let my mind wander to the what ifs. Any advice on the best way to do this?

All right, now there's a lot to unpack here. So let's take this one point at a time.

And as always, the tips I'll share will work for anyone who wants to strengthen their romantic,

or platonic relationships, or both. So first, I just got to say congrats on making a connection

on a dating site. From what I hear, that can be quite tricky. And it sounds like there is a

genuine connection between the two of you. And so next, a few words here just about grieving.

First, there's really no rhyme or reason to how one is going to react, as a result of losing someone.

The grieving process can be so unpredictable. So I'm not really surprised that she's acting a bit

strange after her friend's death. I think when you visit her, allowing her the space to grieve,

and being a source of support even, I think this will be hugely beneficial for the relationship.

You can do this by letting her know that you're all ears if she would like to talk to you about

what she's feeling. Maybe she wants to talk and maybe not. If it's the latter, don't force it.

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