That's a very common experience, Antsa. I'm sorry you've experienced it. I've known the Center for Teaching and Learning at my university to hold post-evaluation "therapy sessions," basically, for faculty who are struggling to digest the cruelty of student evaluations.

And they can be cruel. It's worse for women. I read dozens of evaluations when I was the director of a large core program, and it was very common for students to remark on women's appearance or strictness in ways they would not do for a man.

With my own evaluations, and when I was reading the evaluations of others, I ignored most of what was said. I'm looking for a few basics: Did learning happen? Did they feel challenged? Did they feel safe? Were instructions and expectations clear? Beyond that, it's hard to get much of value.

I have two small suggestions. I assume that evaluations are administered at the end of the course where you are. First suggestion: do a "mini-evaluation" at mid-semester, in open discussion, asking about the kinds of things you want to know: are things clear? are you able to complete the work? are you learning? etc. Ask for concrete ways that you could make changes to help their learning (not to make things easier for them). Second suggestion: before they complete their final evaluation anonymously, tell them that you look forward to their feedback about the course, and that you have appreciated them as students. That will often orient them a little differently away from writing about the most recent complaint or negative thing in their mind.

All best to you, and I hope you never shed another tear after evaluations!