Moridinamael's point is valid, I'm not contesting it. If you treat criticism as an attack and react to it by dumping adrenaline into your bloodstream, that's a problem to be fixed. My observation was just that what looks like criticism might not actually be one. It could be an insult, for example, or an awkward attempt to communicate something else.

Basically, before gearing up to take criticism literally, make sure it is meant to be taken literally.