If someone asks you “how are you?”, it’s not always a good idea to answer: a reflection inspired by Carl Jung.

Imagine you leave your house in the morning. The fresh air touches your face, and you reach into your bag. Inside, there are no coins or bills. There is glittering gold dust. That gold represents your life energy.

The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung called this force psychic energy: the energy that allows you to dream, work, love, create, be patient, and maintain inner peace. It is the fuel of the soul.

Now think: if a stranger asked you what you were carrying in your bag, would you open it and throw your gold on the ground just out of politeness?

Probably not.

However, many people do exactly that every day when they tell too much about their life, their problems, their plans, or their successes to anyone who asks “how are you?”.

Below you will find several ideas inspired by depth psychology to protect your emotional and mental energy.

1. The “Personal Fog”: Don’t reveal exact figures.
We live in an age obsessed with numbers:

how much do you earn

How much did your house cost?

How much did you pay for your car?

how much did you invest

Often, these questions are not seeking information, but rather comparing positions.

If you answer with exact figures, you can wake up:

I despise it if the number is low.

envy if it is high

The alternative is to respond in a general way:

“Enough to live peacefully.”

“A fair price.”

“Nothing exaggerated, but I’m satisfied.”

You’re not lying. You’re just protecting your privacy.

2. The technique of humanizing success
Visible success can generate invisible tensions.

When someone perceives your life as too perfect, they may project their own frustrations. This can manifest as criticism, distance, or conflict.

Therefore, when you talk about an achievement, accompany it with the real effort:

If you were promoted, mention the extra responsibility.

If you bought a house, comment on how difficult it is to maintain it.

If you traveled, talk about the tiredness of the journey.

It’s not about complaining, it’s about showing humanity.

Perfection creates distance. Reality creates empathy.

3. The “gray stone” method for dealing with toxic people.
Some people try to provoke emotional reactions:

constant criticism

provocations

passive-aggressive comments

unnecessary arguments

In those cases, reacting fuels the conflict.

The strategy is to respond like a gray stone:

without exaggerated emotion

with short answers

without justifying yourself

without arguing

Example:

“Perhaps.”
“It could be.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”

When they don’t receive emotional energy, they lose interest.