Dr. Donna Marks Says Self-Love Is the Missing Link in America’s Mental Health and Addiction Crisis
Dr. Donna Marks
Dr. Donna Marks, a leading psychotherapist and author, feels our number one global crisis is mental health.
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, March 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Rising addiction and mental health challenges worldwide are prompting new questions about what is truly driving the crisis. While many solutions focus on treatment, a growing conversation is shifting toward the root cause. According to licensed psychotherapist and revered author Dr. Donna Marks, one of the most overlooked factors is a lack of self-love.
Dr. Marks says addiction, whether to drugs, alcohol, food, or other compulsive behaviors, is often not the primary problem, but rather a symptom of deeper psychological struggles.
“Unhealthy habits are at the core of most mental and physical illnesses, and the research supports this,” says Dr. Marks. “And at the heart of many of these struggles is a lack of self-love. When people do not value themselves, they are more likely to engage in behaviors that avoid the emotional pain rather than heal it.”
Avoiding feelings can take many forms, and many of these avoidance methods can develop into brain disorders, dependency, addiction, and emotional dysregulation, often misdiagnosed as psychiatric disorders and treated with medication. She believes society has been lured into the trap of feeling good for the moment instead of consistently. The quick fix: alcohol, drugs, gambling, nicotine, pills, sex, and social media have generated all-new levels of mental and physical illness. Instead of focusing solely on external solutions, Dr. Marks advocates for an internal shift, helping individuals build a healthier relationship with themselves.
“Self-love is not a luxury; it is essential,” she explains. “When individuals learn how to love and accept themselves truly, it’s easy to break up with habits that keep them stuck. They stop pushing on the wrong lever for love that isn’t there. Even more important, when children are taught they are loved and lovable through parental actions, they are far more likely to make good choices about their bodies and minds.”
Dr. Marks is the author of multiple works, including “The Healing Moment: 7 Paths to Turn Messes into Miracles of Love,” “Exit the Maze: One Addiction, One Cause, One Cure,” and “Learn, Grow, Forgive: A Path to Spiritual Success.” These transformative works teach people how to delve into the seven paths that Dr. Marks introduces, which can help turn negative experiences and mistakes into meaning and purpose.
Readers praise Dr. Marks for her profound work, saying, “What a breath of fresh air reading a book that truly is self-help when it says it is. I didn't realize how many times in my life I missed out on many Healing Moments offered through my 67 years. And even ones that happened many years ago could be just as significant and powerful now. I now see my connection with my sugar addiction, and after reading this book and experiencing my Healing Moment, I am no longer craving all those sweet things. Thank you for the gift of words, Dr. Donna,” Amazon reviewer.
“When people cultivate self-love, they operate from a place of strength rather than deficiency,” says Dr. Marks. “That shift can transform not only mental health, but every aspect of a person’s life.”
She adds that people are suffering not because they are broken, but because they have not been taught how to love themselves. Through decades of her own personal recovery and working with thousands of patients, she has learned why treatment often fails and how we can make it work so that people no longer feel ashamed of a disease they did not cause. “My dream is that someday we will be free from addiction because we never started in the first place.”
About Dr. Donna Marks
Dr. Donna Marks is a licensed psychotherapist, author, and addiction recovery expert dedicated to helping people to remove the habits that block them so that they can achieve the best version of themselves.
To learn more about Dr. Donna Marks and her impactful work, click here: https://drdonnamarks.com/
Dr. Donna Marks is available for interviews.
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