It hasn't destroyed my life but it has made day to day activities a bit harder. I went through a block of training where I basically ignored recovery and did a hard workout every day. I got a bit obsessive. I would wake up in pain, tell myself that I needed a recovery day, and cross off the day on the calander. Then by the afternoon I would convince myself to do at least an easy 5 miler, but 800m in I'd be hammering, and finish in more pain then when I started. Then later I would convince myself that a nice jog would help loosen up the muscles, hammer some more, and end up with 12-15 miles on the day. Rince and repeat.
Running is a strange paradox. Doing it increases ones physical shape, but doing too much running decreases it. Many people could do with a lot more of it, but a few would be better off with a lot less of it.
A few overly agressive workouts sent me over the edge, including a very hilly 19 miler on slushy roads, 25X200m hills all out and and a tempo which I pushed the downhills far too hard. My entire abs and hips were just a ball of pain. Over the holidays it got so bad I could not sit up in bed in the mornings. I had to twist to the side then crawl out, and it took a few minutes of stretching before I could walk without pain. Breathing hurt, and sneezing was the worst. I will probably need surgery but cannot afford it so I just do the strengthening exercises and take it day by day, waiting to get better. My first run back was 4 miles in 35+ minutes, and I was really, really sore the next day. Stairs, up or down, were impossible. Depressing as hell.
But mentally I haven't broken down or anything, and my social life is fine. The fire is still there. Just physically I was a mess, that's all. It seems to be slowly getting better though, which is the one piece of good news my running has had in the past few months.