"If complete, unwavering honesty was indeed always the best policy, sayings like "some things are better left unsaid" wouldn't have survived generations. The truth is that not all honesty is as helpful as we think it is, and, in a similar vein, not all silence is as deceitful as we've been led to believe. Research increasingly suggests that knowing when not to speak can sometimes preserve connection much more safely than brutal honesty ever could."
"It might feel natural for you to point out a change you've recently noticed in your partner's body. Bringing the bit of weight they've gained, the few new wrinkles they've developed or the breakout that wasn't there before to their attention might even seem like a kindness - like you're helping them look after themselves. After all, we're told that honesty is part of caring: if you see something, say something. But when it comes to comments about your partner's body, even well-intentioned observations can come across as nitpicking."
Complete, unwavering honesty is not always the best policy. Not all honesty is helpful and not all silence is deceitful. Knowing when not to speak can preserve connection more safely than brutal honesty. Comments about a partner's body frequently cause insecurity, self-consciousness, and shame. About 55 percent of individuals leave conversations about weight feeling worse, regardless of how the comment was framed. Gentle, joking, or supposedly supportive remarks produce similar outcomes. Partners usually already notice bodily changes because they live in their bodies daily, so pointing them out offers little new information and often harms self-esteem.
Read at Psychology Today
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