I take things waaay to personally.

I have done all my life. It's probably hormones, but I just thought I'd see if people had any methods of not taking things personally. I tend to get really angry or upset at something someone said, when afterwards they try to explain that they really didn't mean it in that way. Although that could just be because of my paranoia?

I can be this way too. I also will have flashes of anger if something aggravates me. I'm still working on being more on an even keel. Good luck.

Some say nasty things, then try to cover it, when asked about them. Or they say they were just joking.

I have that too- if anything goes wrong, I feel really, really guilty and it feels like my fault even if I'm not sure what I've done. I also take things people say really personally, which is often an issue at work because I "find it difficult to manage criticism", mostly because it makes me feel so guilty and like I'm completely rubbish even if it's constructive.

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Yeah, I can be bad at taking critique too

I'm sorry you are troubled with that. I am also the same way and often get upset or cry over things. I feel in order to be more "less caring" I'd have to compromise myself, and I can't do that.

It's been the issue of my whole life. I can't take criticisms, snide remarks, cheap verbal shots lightly, and I seem to deem it as offensive, followed by all the paranoia, anxiety & panic attacks afterwards. If it's just a once awhile light-hearted joke, then it's all fine with me, just not the type that meant to shun u off with disdain and disrespect.

i hate even constructive critism any critism, as i was with someone who instilled it into me because that was all they ever did. i often wonder if this person wasnt like that if i would take it better.

What if people actually refer to you? Should you take them personally then? I think your real problem is that you take things too seriously. Just chill from now on. Things change, and we're not perfect. They're just words, easy come easy go.

Those of us with social anxiety tend to especially sensitive and thin-skinned--not sure if that's you...we focus way too much on any perceived negative responses and dismiss positive ones.

I have lists of things other people have said to me that are positive. I email them to myself and look at them. Generally, if someone has said something negative to me, someone else has said something else positive to me about generally the same thing.

Also, I give it time. If someone says something that offends me once, okay, maybe they just had a bad moment. I wait to see it's "true" by waiting until the next time I interact with the person. If they have forgotten all about it, then I probably misinterpreted what they had said to me.

I am also very sensitive, and have a big tendency to take everything personally. I always have ~ for as long as I can remember.

A big helper in my fight with this trait has been my awareness. I *know* that my feelings, while valid, aren't necessarily factual. I push myself to look at these emotional situations more realistically, before reacting. It takes some additional time, but it is better than immediately reacting too.