Expectations and Emotional Response

I notice that people expect me to have certain emotional responses based on their preconceived ideas about how people should respond. They expect me to be angry. They expect me to be sad. They expect me to be depressed. But I am not them. It has a lot to do with my education at UIS in the field of Communication. I was told a phrase that blew my mind and resonates with me since I first heard it in 2004: "Meaning is in people, not in things."

Take this quick, anonymous two-question survey: I would like to know how feelings work:

Somehow I managed to detach meaning from stimulus. You could say it was like passing the Vulcan ritual of Kolinahr, Now I keep asking myself "How am I supposed to feel?"

While I do have chronic anxiety as an inherited condition, I'm aware of its presence. I'm not sure how to get people to manage their expectations and take ownership of their feelings. I no longer let situations dictate my feelings because I own my feelings. You can too.