How to switch off and forget work???????

[happynewme]

I have a very stressful job, managing some particularly unpleasant people (and some nice ones).

i have only been doing it 6 months and the pay is excellent (hence why i haven't jacked it in YET)... but i just CANNOT switch off - its awful, non stop ticking over in my mind worrying, planning, "dealing" with the nasty people in my head, i even dream about work and wake up stressed.

its starting to take over my life and i really don't want to jack it cause i'm a single parent and finally earning decent dosh... please please somebody help me!!!!!!!!

Woodstock the thought of your DS opening and shutting doors 400 times made me chuckle and brought back some memories! My DS is 6. I feel so much more alive this weekend having had a day off on Friday.

Friday nights my head is normally spinning and in pain! Half a bottle of wine later and am smiling again but then drained most of w/e.

Must play the lottery!

My friend says running is the only way she can stay calm about work. Would love to try that one but am so unfit feels like I'm dying after 2 minutes, probably did stop thinking about work then.

Agree with everyone who says write it down, but don't just do it in the middle of the night. 15 minutes before you leave, sit down and work out what are the most crucial things that still need doing, write them down on a list and LEAVE THEM THERE. It's very effective.

And then, when you get home, if you get the chance, write out the contents of your head for 20 min - all the grief and irritation etc. Writing it down - for me at least - sorts it all out in my head and stops the endless circling thoughts.

Hi - my job's great but very stressful - I work full-time and find it very difficult (impossible) to leave it all at the doorstep when I come home.

I manage it by accepting that I can't switch off when I'm at home, but I try to not do stuff until ds's are in bed. Then I'll log on for a couple of hours each evening, get stuff done and feel much better and able to get a proper night's sleep. So tonight I've got ds's to bed, worked from 8pm - now, got everything done I needed to and I can MN for an hour or so before bed!

Weekends - I try not to do anything on a Saturday, but I keep an eye on e-mails coming in on a Sunday and log on on Sunday night.

Sounds crap but I'm definitely far less stressed out when I accept that this is part of the job - and consequently I hope it stresses my family out less!

Dp finds it annoying but is less irritated by me working in the evenings than if I'm checking my blackberry every 10 minutes and/or not sleeping 'cos I'm worried about work...