For me, it really helps to separate the two aspects of alcoholism:
1. Physical - I can't and never will be able to drink like a normal person.
2. Mental Obsession - Despite how quickly my alcoholism was progressing (it was getting really scary), I kept rationalizing my drinking.
First, I had to fully accept that I will never ever be able to drink normally. No more of those background thoughts - "one drink won't hurt", "maybe I can learn to moderate", etc.
From here, I was able to fully work on a solution to the mental obsession - in my case, a spiritual soution, the 12 steps of AA. Today, the obsession has been lifted. I believe that the key to quitting drinking (not curing alcoholism) is "psychic change." And there are of course other solutions to produce this change.
For me, it's critical to know that correcting the mental aspect of alcoholism will not enable me to drink like a normal person. Everything in my life can be great - physically, mentally, and spiritually - but one drink will undo everything.