The Dreaded "How are you?"

I work in an administrative office building and everyday I try to hurry to my office on the third deck (floor, for you land lovers) and get to my cubicle as quick as possible to avoid the dreaded question. I am laughing at the word hurry in my first sentence, because with my daily aches and pains I go about as fast as the turtle that raced the hare and we all know eventually that slow turtle won the race. Now, I know the question is routine, what else do you say to someone in passing when there is really nothing else to talk about, you say..."Good Morning/Afternoon, followed by "How are you?" So, these co-workers are just following routine...my response is simple. First, with the exception of a few people I have no choice but to see on a daily basis, I try to avoid as much human contact as possible throughout the day. I hurry to the restroom as fast as possible, hoping to get into a stall to do my business before anyone can say anything and if someone comes in while I'm there, I time my finish to miss them as they go into a stall or wait til they get out. Hummm, I was just thinking, sometimes, I wonder if they are doing the same thing, because it can become quite a wait game! If I'm in the elevator and they are not within 10 steps of the door, I pretend I don't see them and quickly press the button to get away. The whole time thinking I survived not having to answer the question. Second, I'm, in my own world and I quickly scurry by a person or persons having a conversation and just do not acknowledge a living presence around me. I also avoid as many meetings as possible and if I do get stuck in one, I hang out towards the back in case I begin having one of my weird anxiety attacks about being around a crowd of people. This second method is usually because I am having a bad morning/day and don't feel like looking at someone, much less talking to them. Third, when I can't get out of it, I just reply, "It's Monday, or Tuesday, or whatever day of the week it is." People seem satisfied with the answer and come up with clever replies like, "Yep, over the hump day." or my favorite, "at least we are one day closer to Friday." I know people are not targeting me on purpose, but my answer to that question can change within, minutes, hours or daily. When I'm truthful about how I really feel, it tends to lead into the next question, "What's wrong? and I just get tired of "It" and unless a person is educated on my disease or the person is one of the select few that really knows how I am actually doing, the conversation becomes to long and I just don't want to talk about "It." Nothing against the person. All my days are not bad, some days I can answer with a cheery, "Alright, and you? These days are less than often, but I do have a few and one day at a time, as slow as it may be, I know with prayer and patience I will win my race.