Here is a quick thought or observation (if you will).
the multitudes of thoughts and dreams (or nightmares) that come with not telling somebody you love them are worse than the pain of knowing, for a fact, the person you love does not love you.
… I think, if you have not told that person, you mind wonders in two possibilities simultaneously:
- you tell them and they love you too
- and you tell them and they don't.
So, if you let them know how you feel, you will know which of the two it is — and thus the misery (or joy) is one of the two and not both.
In theory, anyway.