This was my "light bulb" moment, when I read this on Wikihow. It had a link to RR, which I googled and found this thread.
Technically, the "human brain" is called the "neocortex," and the animal brain (booze brain) is called the "midbrain." The neocortex is a complex, conscious section of the brain. It is the part of the brain that gives you a sense of individuality - a sense of "being you." The midbrain is an unconscious section of the brain that regulates all of your survival functions, such as breathing, eating, sex, etc. When you become dependent on alcohol, the booze becomes one of the midbrain's survival drives. However, it can only obtain alcohol if you make a conscious decision to drink. This decision occurs in the neocortex. If the neocortex (you) can learn how the midbrain works, the midbrain becomes powerless to obtain more booze. You are in control, and you can quit.
So far beastie has been quite quiet. When it speaks, I just tell it to calm down and go to it's room. It might be good at the whole survival thing, but the drinking and codeine thing is up to me.
The fact that our desire to drink is seated in the part of the brain concerned with our very survival, explains the sense of pure panic and anxiety I experience that results from the thoughts of certain situations without a drink. My beastie thinks it's a life and death situation, that's how it is designed to think. Which is kind of my fault because I fed it alcohol for years. So each time I cope with a situation without alcohol, I'm teaching beastie that it doesn't need alcohol to survive? Does this make any sense? It completely does to me. I can't even remember when I stopped drinking.
This feels like teaching a young horse not to spook!