Well, of course it's in our minds. It's also in our physiology - our bodies. If it were only in out minds, then wouldn't deciding not to drink do the trick? In my opinion and in my experience, a sick mind just can't heal a sick mind.
The most innovative treatments around addiction today deal with trauma - emotional and physical - and it's profound effect, usually before the age of 17. It can be a one-time traumatic event or on-going, chronic trauma such as living with an alcoholic or emotionally or verbally abusive parent. The theory goes that our bodies take that trauma in and store it, and it shows up later in life as anxiety, addiction, mental issues, health issues, especially auto-immune disorders . . .
This theory is actually consistent with what some of the great spiritual teachers have had to say.
Before I actually experienced that my relationship with alcohol continued to degenerate even over the many years I was not drinking at all, and when I started again it didn't take very long to spiral down and beyond where I had gone in the first place, I was pretty resistant to the words "alcoholic" and "alcoholism." Now I don't give a flip what it's called.
I've been doing some serious study. There is no "cure" for a screwed-up relationship with alcohol or other substances or any of the myriad ways we find to go unconscious through addiction. No way, no where.
We do manage to live healthy and satisfying lives, but it requires attention and effort. Also, I don't know anyone who has become free from the gruesome effects of addiction and hasn't had some kind of major shift in their life and lifestyle, either willingly or unwillingly.
I've chosen to treat my umm . . . situation as part of my on-going, deep inner growth, whether I'm drinking or not. I feel better and prefer not to drink, but it hasn't always been possible for me to make that choice at will. I must say, though, that each time I've gone down that path, I've come through the worm-hole with a lot more skill at being alive and well.
So, Kid, the issue here for me, and I think for all of us here (hope I'm not assuming, guys) is - are you drinking and unable to stop and if so, is there anything we can do to help?