“How are you?”

How?

Are?

You?

Such a thorny inquiry. So much room for interpretation. 

Could it be “What is your emotional state?”?

Or “How is your emotional state governing your sense of self-worth at this moment?”?

Or, more likely, “How is your perception of self governing your worth to others in your general appraisal of usefulness?”?

It’s typically the latter. You ask “How are you?” but the greater answer lies further not in how I am, or how I perceive I am, or how others perceive I am, but rather in how I am perceived and its usefulness to the greater consciousness. 

I could respond “I’m just okay”, but if I’m doing as I should and performing admirably, then I’m perceived as “Goddamned great!”

I could respond “Getting by”, but if I’m barely so then I could be categorized as “troubled”. 

“How am I?” 

You can answer that better than I.