Recently, I feel like my boss has been indirectly criticizing me at work during every meeting. They donāt say anything directly, but I take their words very personally. Am I overreacting, or do I need to set some boundaries? What do you think I should do?
I went through the same thing for a while. In every meeting, they talked as if there was āsomeone making mistakesā without mentioning me. In the end, I mustered the courage to ask directly, āAre you talking about me?ā and their face turned red. So sometimes asking outright works.
I think you should set aside some private time after the meeting to talk. Something like, āIāve been really taking your recent comments to heart, is that true?ā If you donāt ask directly, this will just keep going on.
Your boss might be making a point, but if you keep taking it personally, maybe you should reflect on yourself. Perhaps their criticism is general, but you might be internalizing it. When you perceive every comment personally, it becomes hard to bounce back 
In such cases, if something personal is not usually expressed, āperformance evaluationā or āfeedback timeā is discussed. A clear action plan related to work may be requested. However, if it remains entirely implicit, it feels as though one is moving away from a professional relationship.
Let me just say, that kind of conversation never happens one-on-one. He only makes those insinuations in group settings. Thatās why Iām hesitant to speak directly, as it would probably be worse 
Honestly, it seems there is a serious communication and power balance problem here. If a manager puts an employee in a difficult position through implication, thatās not transparency; itās exerting pressure. You definitely need to set boundaries.
Hearing those implied words during the meeting really makes you break a sweat. You might not show it from the outside, but inside you feel like youāre burning in that moment. Itās really a tough situation 
You say this happened recently, do you think something might have triggered it? Perhaps a new project, a mistake, or an event where you stood out or something? 
Itās likely this is his general style; the feeling that heās doing it specifically for you might stem a bit from the work environment. Maybe his way of speaking or tone comes across that way to you. But if he continues to draw attention, then something must be off.