It is a myth that alcoholics have some spontaneous insight and then seek treatment. Victims of this disease do not submit to treatment out of spontaneous insight - typically, in our experience they come to their recognition scenes through a buildup of crises that crash through their almost impenetrable defense systems. They are forced to seek help; and when they don't, they perish miserably.
I'll Quit Tomorrow: A Practical Guide to Alcoholism Treatment (ed. Harper Collins, 2013) - ISBN: 9780062295637