How Easy Is It For You to Say "I Love You"?

Hard. Getting me to open up and speak my true feelings in a relationship is a challenge for both me and whoever I am with.

 

With my parents and grandparents I could do it. With everyone else it's hard.

 

Pretty hard. I have trouble showing affection to people, I think I really only say it to my parents.

 

I think for me it might be too easy, I sometimes feel I throw those three words around too much and in person I can do it. But online it is a different story for me it's harder online because I know I'm telling someone who I will never meet how much "I love" them and that makes me feel uncomfortable, although I avoid telling it to people who might misunderstand me because, I've been in a very uncomfortable situation where a girl thought I loved her as more than a friend…so I tend to avoid it unless the person knows I'm gay. In which case I don't mind saying it, same thing goes with hugs.

 

Depends who I'm saying it to.

Online, as a general rule I will only say it to people I really, really like. This might be a bit different to the norm because most people online seem to be feel comfortable with being more flippant about dropping an 'I love you' into the conversation, maybe because it's commonplace. I just feel like it doesn't mean as much if I throw it about.

With my mother we say it back and fourth all the time, always have done so it's easy with her. I can say it easily to animals, well, I do love animals! I used to make a point to say it to my younger half-brothers when I was in contact with them, because I wanted them to know it and also so that they felt like they had someone on their side. As a child I would say it to my father more out of routine or requirement, then when I was older I only ever said it to him once and that was mainly because I felt pushed into it, was very awkward.

I don't recall ever saying it to a friend, although I will put the usual 'lots of love' statements in birthday cards and such.

Never had a proper relationship in which the statement would be uttered in a romantic way. I wonder/worry about my ability in this regard. For a long time I had a strong resistance to sentimental things. Certain experiences built my outlook in such a way that I thought to express love or the desire for it was to express weakness, especially given the association with certain mainstream presentations of love/romance. I don't feel like that so much anymore. Nowadays I'm more of the opinion that if I can find a compatible partner then love can be whatever we make of it. Other's expectations are an annoyance, the only opinion I'd really be concerned with is mine and my partners I think. I really would want to be able to say it if my feelings were deep enough, but then there's that concern over when would be the right time, because when I do say it I want to MEAN it, and know that I mean it with absolute certainty.

 

Offline I can say it easily depending on the situation but I mostly like to show it. Probably worst part about "love" situations is I can easily... very easily say someone if I don't like/love them to their face. My social graces something I thrown away several years ago.

Online not very different, if I feel I love someone, I say it... friendly mostly. Romantic love is kinda impossible for me online. More interestingly I love passing hugs to other people in virtual reality while I am not that touchy feely in real life.

 

I tell people I love them very freely when it's unlikely to have an impact. I say I love my friends (usually in a light-hearted tone so that it's not misconstrued), but I use it less frequently with family, as it means more when said thoughtfully. I never use it formulaically, but I don't believe that love is a finite resource that should be repressed because its value would be diluted - to say it genuinely, no matter how many times, does not take away its meaning.

If I'm romantically interested in someone, I treat it as a very strong word so that it doesn't make them freak out.

 

To friends - sure, I'll probably just say it
To Family - almost never
To a boyfriend or love interest - Yes, on a regular basis, in many different ways and forms besides just saying it ^_^

 

I love you.

There, I said it. Easy.

Jokes aside, actually pretty hard I think. To family, never. We're just not the kind of family where you say I love you-esque things (or show much emotions in general).

To friends - yes I let them know I 'love' them. Not with those exact words but I do let them know I love that they're part of my life every now and then.

I've never been in a relationship so I wouldn't know in those circumstances. Guess it's not hard there, but only when you sincerely mean it so it aren't empty words.

 

I don't use it often with friends--pretty much just in really personal moments, like if they've helped me through a bad time or are going through a bad time themselves. As far as family (including my partner) I say it all the time--pretty much every time I leave their presence, including before I hang up the phone.

 

I guess when you're saying it in a way that is taken lightly to offline friends, I do it freely. At home, we never say I love you to each other but that's because I live in a household where it's more of showing how you love them and to be quite honest, I'd rather have it that way because It feels awkward to say I love you to my parents, lol.

My ex-boyfriend would often say I love you to each other too.

 

Before having kids, not only was it unusual to say "I love you" but other terms of endearment like "sweetheart", after the kids, these things are as natural as breathing, kids are lessons in love...

 

I find it very easy to say I love you, always have. However, these are very loaded words when speaking of a romantic relationship. Affection is not love and "I love you" in a romantic relationship, for me, implies a very deep level of commitment and working on a future together, not just enjoying someone's company.

 

Growing up, my mother was pretty big on the I love yous, and I've never had any problem saying it back. I do love her, and I love the tenderness and affection she has for me, and I know it makes her happy to hear the words.
With close friends, it's also easy. Sometimes I feel the urge to say it, and I will.
Then there are casual situations, where I might say it as a joke or a way of saying thank you, for example, if someone has brought me a coffee right after a particularly gruelling lecture.

Romantically, though, I have more trouble with. I think there's this part of me that has read too many books and associates "I love you" with something very strong. I feel uncomfortable if it's said to me too often, and I don't say it all the time. I feel like it's something that should be felt, not said all the time to reassure each other. I think I'm weird, though.

 

I find it hard to do with my family for the most part but fairly easy to say it to non family members, like my close friends and things. I don't really regard it as such a big deal but my family are mostly kind of weird about saying these things.

 

Not all that easy. I'll feel the love for them but telling them is a different story. I've rarely said it to people and the majority of who I've said it to, dropped me faster than a speeding bullet.

 

With close family, I say it a easily and quite often. I say it with friends but it's a bit harder and not so common.
In relationships, it's a different story. I tend to be incredibly fearful of rejection and I never want to be in a position of saying "I love you" and not hearing it back.