Knowing When To Stop (Anything)!

I’ve had a nasty sciatic pain going down my right leg for almost four months now (!) At first I thought I’d pulled a muscle, then I thought I’d overdone a workout, then I thought I had a slipped disc, then I thought I needed hip surgery, then I thought I just needed to loosen up the joints in that side, then I thought I probably had a tumor, then I thought I was becoming a hypochondriac. But in all these months it never occurred to me until yesterday that my real problem was knowing when to stop doing what I was doing – exercising just about seven days a week to “loosen it up”. In the name of “working it out”, in all this time I’ve continued doing strenuous weighted workouts usually three days a week, and intense speedwalks the other four days of the week. Occasionally when I’m very tired, I give myself a big break by walking in a slightly less maniacal way when I do the cardio, so anyone “with” me is still visible in the background. It’s the joke of my family and friends (my Nazi walk), but I love the rush I get from my muscles communing with nature in this way. It’s not a competitive thing, as I’ve never entered a race, and usually prefer doing it alone without even timing myself. It’s always been one form of self-care for me……..UNTIL the big sciatic puzzle.