I want to know, too. Why is criticism so important to me? Who or what am I so protective of? My reaction to criticism is akin to having my life put in danger. Is the fear of death tied to the fear of criticism? If the fear of death can explain road rage, and I believe it can, then why not also criticism? If the fear of death is invoked when someone downvotes me or criticizes my unkempt hair, then what part of me is it that's being targeted for death and destruction? It's my ego, the external image I have made of myself, by myself, and for myself. The ego is precisely unstable enough so as to not be able to withstand the slightest criticism. Do people who get upset over being criticized therefore possess bigger egos than those who take criticism in stride? They certainly do not have big dicks. Lets be frank here, the lack of capacity to handle criticism is about as small dick energy as anything will ever be. And is the difference between someone who takes criticism as a unwarranted death threat and someone who shrugs if off (I count myself among the former), simply the hold by which a false image of ourselves has attached itself to us? Put it like that and it sounds dumb, but isn't that what an ego is? An image made of ourselves without basis in reality? And if that image, as it holds us hostage, has roots leading all the way to the core of our existence; it's no wonder that criticizing it evokes such deep felt discomfort.