Why do you have such a profound desire to work?

In my life, this has been a coping mechanism. A way to ignore deeper personal problems. I have spent thousands of hours retreating to a fantasy world of code where I am in total control. The more time I spend here, the more I want to stay.

This entire process started at an early age for me. A poor childhood. I turned inward. No friends. My validation and meaning came from coding.

I have created application after application, thinking I was solving problems or doing something meaningful, but these were just rationalizations to avoid confronting my demons.

Might this be a similar case for you? Is more time to code what you really need, or is it something else?