Sometimes the box opens

I was talking to a good friend recently who has had some very difficult times in his life. Completely different from the difficult times that I have had. We spoke about our issues for a while and he was just great to talk to. I asked him how he copes and he said that he tries to compartmentalise things. I agreed with that and said to him that I have found that if it's something really terrible and there is nothing that you can do to sort it out, the only thing you can do is try to put it aside - "put it in a box". But at unexpected moments something will trigger a memory and .... "The box opens", said my friend. We looked at each other and didn't need to say any more. It's so nice to have a moment of perfect understanding with someone.