What you say about the general hopelessness of the average alcoholic’s plight is, in my opinion, correct. As to two of you men, whose stories I have heard, there is no doubt in my mind that you were 100% hopeless, apart from divine help. (Big Book)
My wife and I abandoned ourselves with enthusiasm to the idea of helping other alcoholics to a solution of their problems ... (Big Book)
All went well for a time, but he failed to enlarge his spiritual life. To his consternation, he found himself drunk half a dozen times in rapid succession. (Big Book)
An alcoholic is someone who, if they do not have divine help, activated through work and self-sacrifice for others, will drink, and, if they drink, they might never stop, and die an unpleasant alcoholic death.
Someone who recognises they are an alcoholic will act on this information. This can be discerned by observing the conduct: does the conduct consist in a good dose, each day, of abandonment of self, of work and self-sacrifice for others?
Someone who does not recognise they're an alcoholic but believes that AA might help them improve their life, will do AA Lite. A little this, a little that, but no completion of the programme, and no centrality of AA, recovery, and the service of God.
Someone who does not recognise they're an alcoholic, but does not believe that AA can help them, will stop going to AA altogether.
There are three basic groups: AA Full Throttle, AA Lite, and No AA. One can tell what one believes from what one does.