I can't imagine any of us becoming alcoholic because of any other reason than we initially found alcohol use did something for us that was pleasurable. I recall my chaplain in rehab stating that alcoholism is a disease that makes us think we don't have it....ie: denial.
When I went to my first AA meeting I saw a sign that said "The chains of alcohol are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.". We tell ourselves "I know I'm no alkie", because we *feel* we are in control. By the time we get it through our thick heads that we have no control, we cannot stop, and thus realize we're in the squirrel cage!