I was also a chronic relapse case, but I don't believe for one second that relapse is a requirement for recovery. Motivation is key, and like IOAA2 said, you have to want to be sober more than you want to be in altered reality. For me, the pain of continuing to drink got to a point where it outweighed the pain of getting healthy by enough of a margin to force me to change.
The acceptance part was vital, and when I was able to accept that alcohol has a different, highly-detrimental effect on me, I was faced with the reality of the situation. That meant accepting some hard truths about myself as well, because ultimately, I was the one who chose to stay in the disease when I was fully aware that help and a better way of living were available. The disease may or may not have put me there, but when it came down to it, I was the one choosing to remain in the...erm...manure.
I'm screwed up. Mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. When I first started drinking, alcohol seemed to make those difficulties easier to deal with. It gave me very real PERCIEVED benefits, but it didn't make me learn or grow when it came to the screwed up parts. It just masked them. So gettig sober means accepting MYSELF, as screwed up as I am, as well as accepting the pain of dealing with those difficulties in a healthy fashion that encorages growth and maturity. That stuff often comes from discomfort, but it's a discomfort that bears fruit, as opposed to futility characterized by pain, which is what my drinking had become.
I don't think "immunity" is applicable to me. I still have thoughts romanticizing drinking, even though intellectually, I know where that leads. So I'm clearly not imnune. I am, however, in recovery/remission/what-have-you since I have the disease at a manageable place.
Immunity means it doesn't affect me. That isn't my case. It affects me every day, but now I choose how it affects me rather than choosing to be a victim.