I'm gonna give them the real answer and make them wish they never asked.
(context: i work in IT on help desk and talk to people on the phone)
I say "hey how's it going" so naturally it's like breathing so, sorry
and usually my answer is at least somewhat honest when i say "good" but right now im grieving over a dead friend and i just wanna be like "IT'S GOING SHITTILY"
Also if you want to vent I'm down. I slack off all day at work and check hexbear a lot
Oh, damn. I'm so sorry for your loss, Comrade.
Please take care of yourself as best you can. I hope you have a good community for support.
if society ever goes totally to video chat, im fucked. the faces i make when dealing with these morons...
why is it so hard for people to understand that "how are you doing" doesn't mean "tell me about your current mental state", but rather simply "hello"? i swear we have this thread at least once a month
Death to America
because neurotypical people are lying scum constantly and habitually saying shit they don't mean
Idioms aren't uncommon. They're a fact of language, which is inherently abstract.
Acting as if neurodivergent people are out there not literally spilling tea and not literally breaking legs /s
context though. the cashier at the grocery doesn't give a shit how you are, but your friends probably do
Death to America
I remember telling a barista that my day wasn't really going that great and they put a smiley face with my name on the cup and I nearly started bawling.
(context: i work in IT on help desk and talk to people on the phone)
I worked in a call center ages ago, and just accepted that I was really an improv actor and the person on the phone is a character I had to play.
Dunno if that'll help you, but it worked for me
i just say "its going" and provide no elaboration. people think i am constantly standing with one foot off the ledge and honestly, good. highly recommend
Is this just Americans or do other countries do this too? I know I do this, out of long habit.
do other countries do this too?
Germans do this, in spite of there being a 70% chance that people will be halfway honest and answer something like "meh" or "it can't be helped"
OK, thanks. And yah, the response is not meant to always be, "fine". If you're having a bad day, you can tell me that without going into all the details. I usually want to know when that's the case so I can adjust how I talk to you.
I know that it is definitely unusual to some Scandinavian cultures, they take the question literally
I also take the question literally.
I don't understand neurotypicals.
NT communication often has more to do with ritual and social cohesion than explicit meaning. I can see where it's evolutionarily useful but it can get really annoying
I don't mind the ritual and all that really, it's when people treat it as completely devoid of meaning that I get annoyed. Like it can be idle chit chat, I can be as responsive or generic as I want with it, I can just lie and say fine, or it can spur further conversation, that's all cool!
It's people that go "no you're supposed to completely ignore it and just treat it as if they said 'hey'" that drive me batty. Or who insist the only acceptable answer is "good"
Well, yes, but I think the point was do they use it as a conversation starter 99% of the time? I know many places don't.
when am i today 
