Fake "How are you" 's

Ok so am I the only one who freaking hates fake "How are you" 's?

You've probably been in a situation like this before if you have a friend. Your just sitting there, minding your own business, then your friend walks by and says "Hey, how are you?". To which you respond and add "How about you?" and then your friend tells you everything going wrong in their life instead of just asking to talk. They lure you in with the promise of a regular conversation but then it turns into a therapy session for the other person. 

I'm pretty sure everyone's been guilty of doing this at one point or another, and I feel like it should just stop. If you want help from someone, just ask! Please don't do the whole fake "How are you?" thing. You don't need to be shy when asking for help, and if you do end up doing this, its going to REALLY annoy the person.