How do I...

leave work at work? I am discovering, well I guess I always knew, how hard it is to leave work at work. I work with troubled kids, I also teach, I also coordinate for the after school program. These students have such complicated and horrible home lives that it tends to haunt me. They bring these problems with them, who can blame them, to school and then they struggle to stay on task. I try to do everything possible to give these kids the help they need. I am finding that I wear many hats. I'm a mother, sister, counselor, teacher, coordinator, friend, cook, and boss all at work. It's very hard to leave those things at the door when I leave every afternoon. I know that it's not healthy to carry them home with me. It's not healthy physically, emotionally, or socially. I know that my husband is sick of hearing about everything that happened, but I guess I hope that by telling someone everything that I hear (minus names, confidentiality is key) I can get some insight that I didn't have while at work. My heart aches for these kids! Hopefully I can learn how to balance work with home. Is this a normal dichotomy that people face? Is it something that I should get used to? I sure hope not, because I know all of the worrying I do for these students is causing my constant slight cold and migraines. I guess any wisdom or previous experiences people could share would be helpful to me right now.