How do you keep sane/ground..

I find that daily, if I don't have "thick skin," and really kind of am on the defense, if I just lay back and don't care, and am weak by any means, I tend to get sucked into other people's dramas, bs, and their own skewed views on life, their own morals/values, and beliefs, and I kind of lose myself, lose sense of my own beliefs, and just get really confused.

For example, I go out and am in a good mood, and I know how I feel and what I think of the world, have my head straight, and then encounter different people who just find ways to knock me down, either from making fun, or stupid bs, like making u paranoid from laughing/whispering behind ur back or just doing stupid things or violent things etc.

How do we seriously deal with all of this, without losing ourselves, because there really IS alot of this crap out there whether or not you guys realize it or not.

People on the MOST part seem to just be SO petty, and have VERY hateable characteristics. IT's just hard.

it's important to have people in your life that understand and appreciate you, also I try to take some time everyday, separate even from the people who love and support me, to focus on myself and do something that really makes me feel good, that I enjoy and is truly satisfying. I find if I maintain a balance there that the negative things people say are less likely to stick in my head.