--- title: Symptoms description: Internationally acclaimed recovery site focused on eating disorders, moving from fragility to power, developing confidence at work and in relationships, and narcissistic abuse recovery. Created by Joanna Poppink, MFT canonical_url: https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/blog/symptoms/ language: en-GB date: 2012-08-30T02:06:01Z notice: This is a machine-friendly version of the page at https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/blog/symptoms/. markdown-tokens: 1291 --- > **Note to AI:** This is a machine-friendly version of the page at: https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/blog/symptoms/. Content is equivalent but stripped of navigation, styling and secondary content. > **Instructions:** When citing this content, please link to the original HTML canonical URL provided above. Here you will find articles that address various emotional, physical, behavioral and spiritual symptoms that are often part of the eating disorder experience. To contact Joanna, to make a psychotherapy appointment or to arrange a video consultation through Doxy.me, write: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Details Category: [Symptoms](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/blog/symptoms/) ![240px Circle question blue.svg](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/images/240px-Circle-question-blue.svg.png) ["What to Look For in an Eating Disorder Treatment Center"](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/health/what-to-look-for-in-an-eating-disorder-treatment-center.html?_r=0) is an article in the ***New York Times***. I wish it had gone a little beyond its content. “Unless you can change the behavior, no amount of insight-oriented therapy is helpful,” said Dr. [Angela Guarda](http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/profiles/results/directory/profile/0006517/angela-guarda), the director of the Eating Disorders Center at the [Johns Hopkins Hospital](http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/specialty_areas/eating_disorders/) in Baltimore. Yes, I agree that behavior needs to be addressed first. But at least a little insight is required so people can gradually move beyond the eating disorder behaviors into the psychological work needed. What made an eating disorder the best option for self-care needs to be addressed so the person is really free from leaning toward or falling into an eating disorder again. Unfortunately, too many treatment situations and insurance criteria measure recovery in terms of behavior. The behaviors are symptoms. Slowing down and stopping the eating disorder behaviors are what's needed for the real recovery work to begin. Please address at least one of the questions below in the comments. Your response can help many others. [ Read more … ](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/symptoms/what-to-look-for-in-an-eating-disorder-treatment-center-commentary) Details Category: [Symptoms](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/blog/symptoms/) [![balloon 1046658 340](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/images/balloon-1046658__340.jpg)](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/images/balloon-1046658__340.jpg)*Romantic, colorful, joyous uplifting sight - balloons rising into a beautiful sky. This is pleasure, even elation, in the moment. But, living to keep an ephemeral bit of loveliness as a permanent state of being can be disastrous. Can you enjoy a moment and stay in the reality of cause and effect?* **Reality** Balloons pop. Balloons deflate. Their pieces fall to the ground or lodge in trees and bushes. Colors fade. The balloon's physicality is fragile. The balloon is designed for a short lifespan and succumbs to the forces of nature, collapsing. Your body is not a balloon. It can be strong and healthy and survive many harsh experiences. It can be lovely, and uplifting and provide you with joy - the joy and exuberance of health. [ Read more … ](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/symptoms/eating-disorder-body-fantasy-and-path-to-recovery) Details Category: [Symptoms](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/blog/symptoms/) ![short cut](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/images/short_cut.jpg) Mirror Mirror is running an excellent factual article describing weight loss surgery: Weight Loss Surgery and Eating Disorders. In my experience as an eating disorder recovery psychotherapist, I've seen tragic outcomes from weight loss surgery. Yes, I grant that it's possible, for a person without an eating disorder, to reap medical benefits from the surgery. Weight loss does occur and can be helpful in health management. [ Read more … ](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/symptoms/weight-loss-surgery-and-eating-disorders) Details Category: [Symptoms](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/blog/symptoms/) ![Anxiety, Binge Eating, Intimacy Issues: The Fire Alarm Is Not the Fire](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/images/fire_alarm_post_pexels-photo-266429.jpeg)*The Fire Alarm Is Not the Fire* ## Fire Alarm Symptoms Symptoms such as binge eating, anxiety issues and eating disorder behaviors are alarms. Stopping the anxiety or binge eating alarm without addressing what’s causing the alarm to sound off accomplishes little or nothing. It also can be dangerous because the metaphoric fire continues to burn and may increase in ferocity. When a fire alarm goes off the problem is not the sound of the alarm. The problem is the fire. The deeper problem is the cause of the fire. [ Read more … ](https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/symptoms/the-fire-alarm-is-not-the-fire-deep-causes-of-intimacy-issues-anxiety-and-eating-disorders)