I was thinking this morning about how I gave up smoking. Nicotine is a really addictive substance and difficult to kick but the one thing that I think is easier about giving up cigarettes is that it is such a anti-social activity. Drink, on the other hand is present at almost every gathering and celebration in our society and is seen as a pleasant addition to socialising.
But then I realised that the basic principles are the same. If we can't drink 'normally' then it is still an anti-social activity.
Whether it is drink, drugs, smoking, although they are all cleverly disguised as habits, emotional props, self medication, etc. the bottom line is that we continue to use them because they satisfy a craving. The craving is addiction.
Do smokers want herbal cigarettes without the nicotine? Do drinkers want non alcoholic wine or beer? Of course not. We really don't do it for the taste or the habit.
Once the rational part of our brain tells us it's time to stop drinking, or drinking so much, we decide to stop. Then the craving kicks in. That is the voice of addiction. That voice is strong and loud and powerful. It is shouting "feed me, feed me" and sometimes we give in and feed it, just to shut it up. But it gets hungry again and needs to be fed the next day and the next and so on.
Then the rational part of our brain tells us enough is enough and we stop again. The addiction screams to be fed. We give in. We feed it. And so it goes on.
But over time, the addiction grows (because we kept feeding it, are you still with me here 
) and it needs more each time to satisfy it. Our health suffers, our relationships suffer, our self-esteem shrinks as the addiction grows.
Eventually the rational part of our brain tells us it has to stop before it does irreparable damage. So we stop feeding the addiction. It screams and shouts and stamps it's feet. That voice is all we can hear, it's driving us crazy so what do we do? We feed it. To shut it up . . .
There is only one way to stop it for good. Stop feeding the addiction. Starve it. Let it die.
When I hear that voice begging me for food I imagine it's my little two year old niece begging me to let her play with sharp knives. Aint gonna happen love. Scream and shout all you like, the answer's still "No".
Jesus, of course, just tells it to Fuck the fuck off!