Have you ever wondered which hurts most?

I suppose you have heard this phrase, "Words can kill"? This is something I believe wholeheartedly having suffered verbal abuse most of my life, I can appreciate the pain. So for me, my motto is this : "If you have nothing nice, encouraging or honest to say, don't say anything". If I say nothing, I don't have to regret and wish I can take back the words. I don't ever want to hurt people the way I have been hurt - it takes a long time to heal, and an even longer time to forget. So, I feel it is better to say nothing than something and cause damage to another person.

I think both will hurt both parties. After saying something harsh to another person if you wish you had not said it then you are a conscientious person with a soft heart. The heat of the moment may have made you say the harsh words. Only such a person will feel like this. In this case, the hurt will last longer for the person who had uttered the words. The other person too will be hurt but it is natural that he/she will forget the hurt much more earlier than the other one. In the second case, the person who wants to say something but couldn't will be hurt more. The other person who is intended to hear, may not be that much hurt because that person may not be expecting or knowing what you are going to say. But in the case of love, both will be hurt equally, if both of them love each other but not sure of the other's feelings and hence can't open their hearts. If it is one-way-traffic, the hurt will be for one person only.

What 'hopeful' says is absolutely correct. At the same time, if you get an opportunity to compliment somebody on something then do it with lavish words - that can work wonders.

I guess both. First one can hurt other person very bad. But if you think about it - second can hurt both people. I think the question is about honesty. Sometimes people would say "I love you" by not meaning it - that would hurt me more.

i Never thought about that very deep

I never thought about that honestly.