Recoverer
Unfortunately your affirmation isn't going to make the list
But yes, it is important to deal with the inner cause of any issue rather than to attempt to hide it or erase it without putting the inner work in.
It is also important to put as much positive feeling behind affirmations as possible, envisioning and feeling that the affirmation is already true, and releasing any attachment to the outcome, putting complete faith in the higher self to manifest the result. Stating affirmations while believing it will never be true will render them useless- one must have faith, and this faith can be gained by learning of the great success many people have had in transforming their lives by changing their unhealthy mental habits.
However, it is possible through thinking empowering and loving thoughts, to align oneself with the energy of these thoughts and hence transform the negative energy that was being held on to, as what entering a state of divine love will likely do.
For example, if one feels unworthy because they were told they were not good enough as a kid, they will think unworthy thoughts. But if this person makes the habit of replacing their unworthy thoughts with positive, loving thoughts of self worth, they will begin to shift into alignment with the energy of their new thought pattern, and will begin to experience that positive, loving, worthy energy. After all, our feelings and emotions are generated by our thoughts. The more they experience this new energy of love and worth, the more they will gain firsthand experience of the true source of their worth- they will realize that their worth actually came from within and cannot be dictated by anything outside of themselves, and it was a matter of wrong thinking that caused their unhealthy mental and emotional state. They will be cured by their affirmation.
Nearly all ailments are the result of wrong thinking. So it makes sense that the problem should be corrected at the source- the thought. Replace an old thought pattern with a new, more beneficial thought pattern, and the truth of the new way of thinking will be apparent and the old pattern will need not be looked back upon.
If one does not understand the importance of living according to love, what better way of learning that importance than by experiencing its truth firsthand? You can't experience an internal state without having thoughts that are aligned with that state. Affirmations cause the subconscious programing of conscious thought patterns in accordance with the nature of the affirmation.
Of course, I did not want this to become a debate on affirmations, although I saw it coming from a mile away.
Those who doubt the effectiveness of affirmations to induce real change have either never given them a try or did not use them correctly, and have a faulty understanding of the mechanics of the mind.