Originally Posted by
wpainterw 
There's a lot of insight and good stuff on this thread! The problem, as I see it, is that two parts of the brain, one primitive and the other rational, fight for control.
I agree. I call that "the monkey part" of me.
The "higher" part of me is rational, considerate, liberal, charitable and kind. Ah, but the monkey part...It's anger, ego, envy- all the parts of us we sometimes dislike. I think we need the monkey part of us to survive. It's the essence of our drive to survive and overcome. Most of the time it's healthy but the problem is that it's very difficult to turn off. We don't need the monkey part all the time like we probably did 50,000 years ago.
The strongest part of my monkey brain is anger. If someone unexpectedly gets in my face of gets too close in an aggressive manner, even a friendly aggressive manner, the monkey part bares its fangs. That's another reason I'm glad I quit drinking. I was never a violent drunk by any means but that's probably partly due to the fact that I normally drank alone. As you say, alcohol anesthetizes the rational part and liberates the monkey part. It opens the door of the cage.