Hitting a "bottom" was beneficial to me for the simple fact that it forced me to quit drinking for an extended period of time. That gave me the time to clear my head and take a long look at what was really going on in my life, what I wanted out of life and how my drinking was affecting that.
My "bottom" was somewhat of a perfect storm. Coming together at once I had multiple legal issues (DUI's), suspension of my professional license and loss of employment, loss of self respect and that of family/friends, etc. I knew that I was going to lose all material things. It was over one way or the other. I knew that I would either have to face the music and get sober or go on a real bender and try to end it.
It ended up being the best thing that could have happened to me. I am convinced that I would not have quit drinking unless I had been removed from alcohol for that year spent in rehab and jail. It might not have taken a full year, but it helped.