Tracey Gold Returns to TV
Tracey Gold is back on TV in a new way. Her new show “Starving Secrets” deals with young ladies suffering from Anorexia Nervosa and premieres this week on Lifetime.
She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of nerdy teenager Carol Seaver. Gold starred on “Growing Pains,” a family sitcom, from 1985-1992. She had some competition from her on-screen brother, Michael Seaver, portrayed by teen heart-throb-turned-minister Kirk Cameron. The stress of the show, Gold notes, is contributed to her battle with the medical disorder known as Anorexia Nervosa.
Anorexia Nervosa is characterized by a lack of eating; people who suffer from the disorder starve themselves in the hope of being thinner, which often leads to sever malnourishment and possible death.
In an interview with Larry King, Gold talked about her experience with Anorexia and the public image. “When I was 19 years old, I came down with anorexia. I had it for about a year before it became public. And it had a lot to do with my self-esteem at the time, changes in my life that were happening. “
She continued: “I had fallen in love for the first time. ‘Growing Pains’ was coming to an end. I had just graduated high school the year before. So I was faced with the reality of growing up and life changing, and I sort of freaked out. And my defense mechanism at that time was the anorexia.”
Anorexia can certainly be brought on and aggravated by stress. Gold decided to go public with her struggle in order to help other young women. She did a TV movie “For the Love of Nancy,” which is based on the true story of a young woman and her struggle with the disorder. Gold was actually dealing with her own struggle while filming the movie, though it is not based on her story.
In 1992, “People” magazine featured Gold on its cover and did an in-depth interview that specifically discussed her eating disorder. She has not shied away from talking about her ordeal, and “Starving Secrets” leaves no room for anyone to hide.
Lifetime describes the show: “In each one-hour episode of "Starving Secrets with Tracey Gold," she will work with women in the grips of anorexia or bulimia as she uses her own experience to reach them in ways no one else can. Along with a team of specialists, Tracey helps these women confront the reality of their conditions and find the treatment they need to begin to turn their lives around.”
It’s no coincidence that Gold is returning to TV, the place where she got her start, in order to help others. “You know, and it's weird how life comes full circle, because so much of, you know, trying my need in life to always trying to be the person who takes care of other people, and sometimes like I forget about taking care of myself.”
Gold says that she has learned a lot from years in therapy and is ready to help others once again. She also talked about the role that God has played in her life. “I consider myself more of a spiritual person. But I don't go to church every Sunday, but I believe in God, and I believe that there's, you know, a reason for things and a higher being and all of that.”
This main reason for this show, though, is education. As God said, “Twenty years ago when I became ill with anorexia, there was very little information available to me. Whether you know a wife, husband, son, daughter or friend in trouble, you will learn some very hard lessons and also see that for some, like me, there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
