Every “I’m fine” has a tone. Learn to hear it.

There is more than one version of those two words, and the difference lives entirely in how they are said. Clipped usually means leave it, tired means ask later, and bright and fast often means the opposite of what it says. You already hear this in people you know well, and the skill is noticing that you heard it instead of taking the word at face value.

Spend a week listening for tone before content. When the two do not match, do not announce your diagnosis. Change what you do instead: sit closer, talk about something else, come back in an hour. Most support is adjusting rather than interrogating.