How I respond depends on who's asking. If I've just crossed paths with a casual acquaintance or someone who's clearly just making conversation, I just respond, "Fine. You?" rather than share my true state of mind. But I can feel weird about doing that.

When I have a doctor visit or phone call, my doctor always begins by saying, "Hi, how are you?" I hear myself automatically saying, "Fine," which is ridiculous, because a moment later, I'll be launching into my medical complaint, so I'm clearly NOT fine. LOL

If I know someone genuinely cares about me, I'll always give an honest answer, and I'll always make time to listen to their honest answer, and inquire further if I sense they'd welcome that.

Thanks for a thought-provoking article, Christina.