"How are you?"
"Oh, I am okay."
*her mind is full of disarray*
She smiles while saying that she is okay. Her smile is artificial, like those preservatives in can goods.
She really is not okay. Her rent is due, but she does not have enough cash to pay it. Her college bills are stacking to the stars and her depression is hacking her brainwaves.
"Okay" is the right expression, because no one wants to know. No one really wants to know that she cries at night or how she stares at the ceiling, screaming to God for help and relief. No one wants to know how she was plotting suicide the night prior.
She responds with an "okay" because deep down she believes she will be one day.
Life is full of horrors, heartbreaks, deaths, and hurt.
It is fine to respond with, "Today I am not okay... I am not okay."