I can't totally agree. I know it is very complicated and no one has to adopt the concepts and philosophy of AA. That is a free choice.

What do you mean when you say "when someone chooses to deal with their problems head on the need for alcohol goes away." How does that person deal with their problems? Do they need help? Or can they handle all their problems and addictions totally on their own under their own free will?

Some people can have addiction and not have an addictive personality or be an addict in any sense of the word. My ex wife is a good example. She was a coke head and cigarette smoker for a long time. She got pregnant and quit everything cold turkey without a problem and never touched anything again. She is not an addict.

Many people are powerless and don't have a choice. To me alcoholism and addiction is the same, alcohol is a drug, and I could switch drugs of choice all the time. But to keep it simple i will stick to alcohol.

I was genetically predisposed to alcoholism. My dad, my grandpa, all through both sides of the family. Environment plays a role because obviously if I had never touched a drink I would never have become and alcoholic. But I did and I drank so much for enough years I progressed into a full blown alcoholic. I tried for many years under all the will power I could muster many times and just could not do it. It was bigger and more powerful than me. I was definitely powerless. No matter how hard i tried at some point I was going to pick up again.

The concept of admitting you are powerless means that you have admitted that you just can't beat this thing on your own. You need help. It is a paradox. By admitting you are powerless you gain power.

Then there are the physical aspects and brain chemistry aspects to addiction and alcoholism.
There is no doubt there is such a thing as the phenomenon of craving. This means that most of the time once I get three or four drinks in me this overwhelming craving takes over and I just cannot stop drinking until I pass out or all the booze is gone and the stores are closed. I have heard hundreds of alcoholics describe the exact same thing.
People metabolize alcohol differently. Alcoholic definitely metabolize it differently than normal drinkers. Some people metabolize it in such a way that it has horrible effects and they never drink. It is believed that how alcoholic metabolize alcohol is what causes this phenomenon of craving.

It is not proven and there are lots of studies but it is believed that people born with addictive personalities have different brain chemistry than people who are not. Of course you can use a lot of any addictive substance and change your brain chemistry so that you are addicted to the substance. People can get through withdrawal and quit with out much difficulty like my ex wife who was addicted to coke. These people are not addicts in my view.

If you want to find out if you are powerless or not totally quit all drug and alcohol use for a year and see if you can do it. Prescription drugs taken as prescribed don't count. Some people can do it. No way I could. I was powerless. Might sound like a cop out but it is not. I gained huge power in admitting I needed help and couldn't do it alone. AA enabled me to gain power over alcohol and I am recovered.