For a person to be diagnosed addicted, it does not require his or her acknowledgment of the problem. However, to meet the criteria of being dependent, according to DSM IV-TR(reference source used by the medical and mental health community to diagnose mental health and substance abuse problems), that does rely on some subjective acknowledgment of the symptoms.

Minimization or denial is usually a challenge most people who have addiction problems struggle with. It becomes challenging for significant others and the addicted person to be on the same page with how they see the problem. In fact, in most cases, the influence of family or friends that get the addicted person to stop the behavior or seek out treatment. The addicted person is usually influenced by external factors(family, friends, employment, law) rather than internal(self awareness).

If a person who has an addiction is clearly presenting themselves as a immediate danger to themselves or others, then mandated therapy(in patient hospitalization) could be pursued. If they are not posing an immediate threat, families could still come up with external pressure to get the person to stop the addicted behavior or seek out treatment. Getting him or her into treatment or therapy, does not initially depend on everyone agreeing to the diagnosis.

External pressure could lead a person to stop the behavior. For example, a wife could give a husband who is dependent an ultimatum... either stop drinking or she will seek out separation from him. External pressure could come from more than one source. The sources could include friends, family, employment, and church as examples. I would suggest, if you are going this route, to get some professional guidance. this could be a difficult direction to go without it