Another way to look at it is to decide if you want a real life or if you will settle for palliative care.
My late wife had an illness from which there was no hope of recovery. She suffered a great deal and to ease the suffering she was medicated to make her as comfortable as possible until the end.
Alcoholism is also a terminal illness, but there is hope of arresting it and leading a full life, however the process is painful. One could opt for the palliative care model and ease the discomfort while waiting for the end, a sort of half life pointless existence, probably not feeling much of anything. As I heard one doctor say, you can't selectively numb emotions, you end up numbing the good with the bad. Some folks are willing to accept that deal but I am so happy I did not.
As I write I am remembering a woman who said she initially tried the comfortable path thinking she could avoid the pain of recovery. 6 months later she changed her mind and discovered she had succeeded only in postponing the pain.