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What is the balance between saying what you feel and not hurting the other person's feeling. Is it better in a relationship to be completely honest and say something like your laugh annoys me or is it better to accept that it is part of them and not to mention it?

I don't want someone who is suppressing his feelings but I feel hurt when I hear negative things about my personality.

I try and avoid making negative comments about things the other person can't realistically be expected to change...a laugh.

For things that I need to address that aren't nice, I do plan what I say so that I'm owning my feelings about the issues...theres a difference between saying "i feel upset when you make things for dinner that you know i don't like" and "you always make things for dinner that i don't like" The first is me expressing MY feelings the other is an accusation. While neither phrasing is warm and fuzzy, the first one is less likely to make my SO defensive. I do avoid things like "it SORT OF bothers me when..." I prefer clear, direct statements of the issue.

I believe you need to be honest in a relationship but you don't need to be mean, unnecessarily harsh or accusatory. Life can be plenty tough as it is. Why make it harder when a simple adjustment to phrasing can help?

If it is something the other person has no control about, such as a physical feature, a quirk that is an ingrained part of their personality, or their laugh....you need to learn to live with it.

What would be the purpose of telling someone they have an annoying laugh? People can't change how they express joy or humor. All that would do is make that person self-conscious about feeling and expressing humor. I personally just try to stay away from any type of criticism unless it is solicited in a self-improvement type way, and then it needs to be done with compassion, lots of positive reminders, and a true concern for the other person. It isn't my job to tell other people what is wrong with them, I have enough of my own faults to deal with.

On something like a laugh, people laugh how they laugh. Either learn to live with it or move on, but don't pick someone apart for something they have no control over.

[This message edited by NaiveAgain at 8:41 AM, November 8th (Friday)]

I'd say it's too honest if the goal isn't to improve the relationship.

Which is easier, to suppress a laugh, or to suppress a negative opinion? Which would make time together more enjoyable for BOTH of you?

I say to be thankful and appreciate that you get to share a laugh with someone special to you. We don't all have that...

-t2g