From the age of 12, Tracey Gold suffered from anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder that almost killed her.
But since overcoming her disorder nine years ago, Gold, who used to star on TV's "Growing Pains," has taken her experience to the road to educate people about how destructive the disorder can be.
"Someone with an eating disorder is literally walking around as the living dead," Gold said.
More than 200 women and a handful of men piled into the Integrated Learning Center lecture hall last night to hear about Gold's bouts with anorexia nervosa.
Gold first faced the disorder when she was 12 in an attempt to reverse the changes her body was going through during puberty.
But that only lasted six months.
She didn't struggle with anorexia again until she was 16, when the producers of "Growing Pains" noticed she had put on a few extra pounds and said she needed to start dieting.
She immediately engaged in a serious fight against calories.
She said she was in the practice of not eating all week and then binging on the weekends.
"I felt as though I was caught in an undertow, waving my arms, grasping for help," Gold said.
"I knew that the only one that could save me was myself," she said.
The disorder changed her personality and her relationship with family and friends.
At one point, she was admitted to a hospital that hurt her more than it helped her.
She checked herself out within three days.
The hospital closed six months later.
She tried to visit doctors, but they let her leave the office with the same deadly habits to which she had become accustomed.
"I woke up one night with my heart pounding, and I sincerely thought that was the night I was going to die. I knew that I had to change," she said.
She started seeing a doctor at UCLA who specialized in eating disorders.
He helped her set appropriate goals for herself.
But it took her almost two years to finally hit her goal weight, she said.
"I haven't lost a pound since that night" she said.
She has done Lifetime movies about the disease and describes them as a healing process.
"I was happy that at the end of the day I was healthy and not going through all of the terrible things the character was, as I once had," she said.
Margie Cooley, a finance sophomore, said she remembers Gold in this role.
"I saw "For the Love of Nancy." I thought it was very interesting that she had a bout when she was 12, and it came back and triggered such a struggle. I see how it can really take over your mind."
Sara B. Boinkin was impressed with how Gold addressed the issue.
"She didn't glamorize it; she gave us the real story."
Students who attended the event said they were touched by her story.
"It brings everything into reality hearing someone that went through it. You see how scary it really is," said Cheryl Spate, an engineering sophomore.
Some students wished the discussion was more gender-balanced.
"I was disappointed that it wasn't geared a little more towards males," said Tally Largent, a biochemistry junior.
"They are a major demographic that suffers from the disease and that is a target audience here in college," she said.
A.J. Duxbury, a creative writing junior, said she appreciated Gold's advice.
"She gave a lot of good inadvertent advice such as explanations of what helped the most, least and gave us the basics on how to help those around us," Duxbury said.
The event was put on by the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, Arizona Bookstores and the athletics department.
There are resources on campus to help you or a loved one who may be struggling with an eating disorder.
The Oasis Center is available as well as Counseling and Psychological Services, which can be reached at 621-3334 or at health.arizona.edu.