"How Are You?"

How are you?  A normal, everyday question.  We hear this question all the time; from friends, family, even grocery store cashiers.  For people who suffer from chronic pain, it's hard to answer that question.  Obviously, we aren't going to give the girl who works at the 7-Eleven a detailed overview of our symptoms.  A simple, "I'm fine, how are you?" will suffice.

But it's different when we're asked that question by close friends or family

members.  How do we respond when they ask, "How are you?" Do we tell them how we really feel?  Or do we just answer with a generic, "I'm fine."? 

I haven't figured out how to manage that dance between giving too much information (because, really... who wants to hear about aching joints and irritable bowel syndrome?!) and not telling the truth.  I don't want to lie to my friends or family, but I also don't want to always have to talk about my health.  When I say "I'm fine", I mean that I am dealing with my Fibromyalgia. I may not be feeling the best, but I am ok.