I struggle with expressing emotions. I feel very detached from others emotionally. 
Im sorry to hear that. Sounds like you have been hurt in the past and have put up a emotional barrier.
Yes, although it's not all negative. It helps me maintain boundaries and see situations very clearly. 
I understand. It makes you feel like not trusting anyone.
Definitely. I do have some people I am close to, but it takes me a while to get there. 
i understand. So basically, you have your own inner circle and it takes time for you to open up and trust someone?
Yes. I am very tuned in to manipulation, and so once I see that quality, I definitely put up a wall to avoid engagement. 
Yes, manipulation is a terrible trait to have.
where this is used in a positive sense might include emotional boundary management, where a person avoids emotional levels of engagement related to people who are in some way emotionally overly demanding, such as difficult co-workers or relatives, or is adopted to aid the person in helping others such as a person who trains himself to ignore the "pleading" food requests of a dieting spouse, or indifference by parents towards a child's begging.
Emotional detachment can also be "emotional numbing", "emotional blunting", i.e.
on me. I don't worry about being alone or having others not accept me.
- Dismissive - I am comfortable without close emotional relationships. It is very important to me to feel independent and self-sufficient, and I prefer not to depend on others or have others depend on me.
- Preoccupied - I want to be completely emotionally intimate with others, but I often find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I am uncomfortable being without close relationships, but I sometimes