Treat it non-literally. Say ‘How’s it going?’ which turns it into a greeting rather than a question.

“Still kicking but not screaming!”

“I’ve been worse”

“As always.” is an old favorite of mine. They’ll assume things are neither particularly good nor bad, when what you mean is that you always feel bad.

“Thanks, how are/about you?”

So, not responding and directing the attention to the person who asked. Especially useful, if the person asking isn’t even (genuinely) interested, but just asking as a form of greeting. The ones who care might either understand you don’t want to talk about it or will inquire once more.

Hmm… Now that I think about it, that is awfully close to some US American’s way of replying with the exact same question, omitting any kind of reply, concluding the greeting.

“Better than I deserve”

It depends on who’s asking.

Generally I like to tell what’s on my mind. Or, if I say stuff is fine, I’ll explain what I’ve been doing lately.

I’m not a person who avoids difficult topics so it’s kinda natural for me to answer “more honestly”.

In German, we say “shitty would be bragging”.

My go-to is the ol Lebowski quote, “Strikes and gutters, ups and downs”

I’m usually asked this at work, so my go-to response is, “Well, I’m here.” Which most seem to understand.

This is going to come off with a heavy “if life gives lemons” vibe, but over time it does work. Where I went to college, there was a day every year, I think during Fall or Spring, where everyone greeted everyone. Nobody made a big production about it, just a simple, “hi” or “what’s up.” Weird thing is it had a tendency to keep going beyond the day. Most people only did it on the day, but a surprising number of people kept doing it outside of that. Including me, eventually! I still make an effort to be nice to people, and I trace it back to that. No, it doesn’t magically make my day better, but it’s one nice thing that happened. Plus, over time it helps me see/appreciate even small positives, which helps keep me from getting too weighted down by the bad stuff.

Don’t mean to trivialize the bad stuff in your life, OP. I do hope you’re able to manage it, and not let it beat you down. When I started college, I was a pretty negative person. While I wouldn’t call myself “sunny” all these years later, I do see a big difference in my general outlook compared to younger me.

You could pretend you’re in letterkenny. That’s kind of fun.

“HowAreYaNow?”

“Good,andyou?”

“Notsuhbad.”

It’s just a dialog check to get through. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZAz_MROU2I

In Finnish we have a phrase “ei kurjuutta kummempaa” which is said in a happy, jolly way and its usually accepted as “not great but I don’t want to expand on it.” It translates to “nothing worse than misery.”

I’m alright, just a little tired.

“My life is falling apart, and things somehow seem to keep getting worse with each day that passes. So, you know, just living the dream.”

Or if you want to keep it brief, “Pretty sure I must have pissed somebody off in another lifetime.”