One of the greatest obstacles stopping a person from changing is the notion that it can be done without a lot of investment. We live in the generation of instant results, and we come to expect that whatever needs to happen should happen quickly.
Furthermore, we tend to forget that our whole purpose on this world is to change and improve. We tend to look at any weakness that we have as an "inconvenience" that needs to be gotten out of our way (or ignored), while in reality it's Hashem's personal message to us telling us exactly what He sent us to this world for.
So what usually happens is that it doesn't even occur to a person to really spend time, energy and "focus" on improvement, and particularly on recovery. Hashem tells us "T'na b'ni libcha li - My son, give me your HEART", it means your whole heart. When Hashem makes it obvious to you what you have to work on, it logically follows that it should be the main focus of your life. But we usually don't get the message. Yes, we try, we may even post on the forum, but often we are not willing or not able to really invest concerted effort.
We may even be moser nefesh for short periods of time, or we may even be contemplating suicide - chas ve'sholom. But we can only be successful when we except the mission that Hashem has given us, instead of trying to dodge it. And that means to patiently - with yishuv hadaas - invest our "focus", our time and our effort on that mission.
For most people, it may very well be impossible to do that without a group that's concentrating on exactly that. Joining a (SA) group is a commitment, and at the same time it provides an ideal framework for serious, focused and persistent work.