Same. I spent 5 or so years working on a project when I (sh/c)ould have been working on myself. I knew I needed to be doing something so I manifested that change externally which made me feel like I was making progress on something - something apprehendable.
What I needed to do instead was realize what those needs were, where they were coming from, and address them directly. Now I have a lot of catching up to do back-dropped with the emotional texture of lost time.
Unfortunately it is never simple. All my previous therapists affirmed my own projects as positive and even admirable and encouraged me to continue working on them. That was in spite of me ostensibly seeking out a therapist to address other issues despite believing that I was receiving some amount of fulfillment from the projects also.
Whenever I leave my project, it doesn't feel like there's a whole lot else I would rather do. When I seek answers, the "tough" advice that I'm greeted with instructs me to make something of my life. But wasn't that what I was already doing when I was still working on my projects? So I don't see any reason not to go back, if I can't find a way to make other kinds of progress myself, or am too good at avoiding internalizing the need for it constantly.
Unfortunately, if you tend to gravitate towards computers, and fail to find a professional who can give you more constructive ideas on how to define a concept as ambiguous as "working on oneself", it becomes far too easy to go back and self-medicate. I find it hard to judge someone else on the basis of how passionate they are about their hobbies, but if it's directed towards ourselves instead it sounds like we ought to be doing it more.
What I needed to do instead was realize what those needs were, where they were coming from, and address them directly. Now I have a lot of catching up to do back-dropped with the emotional texture of lost time.