I have to laugh at my own foolishness. I sat down and composed my thoughts on this and then found it was too big to put in a reply. I'm lost as to how to cull it down to the pith so it will fit. This was a pretty good metaphor for my experience with writing. Basically, I think I write to keep from going crazy, and writing makes me crazy. It's a vicious circle.

I thank you for this post, and all the insights I have gleaned from everyone's replies.