Md. Woman On 'Addicted To Food'

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- A Maryland woman will face her eating disorder head on Tuesday when the Oprah Winfrey Network premieres its new show, "Addicted to Food," at 10 p.m.

Elizabeth Kovic, a mother of two from Ocean City, was one of eight people who spent last fall in a 42-day treatment program at Shades of Hope, a Texas treatment center founded by therapist Tennie McCarty who uses an unorthodox tough-love approach to help her clients turn their lives around.

"What she treats is not the eating disorder; she treats everything beneath it," Kovic said. "People are being confronted with things they don't want to deal with."

Shades of Hope, according to its Web site, is a residential and extended care all-addictions treatment center specializing in the treatment of eating disorders and co-occurring addictions.

The eight-week series will chronicle the lives of six women and two men, each of whom suffers from eating disorders that range from binge eating and compulsive eating to anorexia and bulimia.

Kovic, 48, an intern at ABR Counseling Associates in Selbyville and Dover, said she has suffered from bulimia for 30 years.

She said she found out about the show while she doing research about her disease.

"It was a weird thing. I was Googleing, how old you could be with the disease ... and out of nowhere an ad popped up that they were casting for a show. I was in a lot of pain that day so I typed up my story and sent it."

Kovic was contacted by a casting director a few days later, and after constant contact with producers for the next few weeks, she was asked to be on the show.

She said she was a bit reluctant at first, wondering, "What have I gotten myself into?" — especially because she was worried how the exposure would affect her two sons. However, she said she soon realized that the treatment would probably do her a world of good.

"I can't take it back now and I wouldn't want to because I learned so much from it. It was a great experience," Kovic said.

She said her struggle with bulimia began when she was 14 years old and she has been in and out of therapy since she was 22.

Kovic joined Overeaters Anonymous for four years and was able to keep her bulimia at bay, which made her think she was cured. However, other addictions soon came to the surface.

"When I put down the food, I pick up alcohol. If I drop that, then I pick up shopping, or I pick up men. I have a predisposition to addiction," she said.

Kovic said she is not only addicted to food, she is also addicted to exercise, which provides a similar release or "buzz" from serotonin and endorphins.

"Anything that takes you out of yourself," she said.

Kovic said over the years she has found that food is something most Americans struggle with.

"America's addiction is food. Fifty percent of Americans suffer from eating disorders, and the other 50 percent are disordered eaters. We have a huge pre- occupation with food," she said.

Kovic said going through the treatment and being on the show was good for her and, she hopes, will allow her to defeat her inner demons.

She has also created new friendships with five of the other patients, all of whom talk on a nightly basis.

"It's a support system. We all message each other every night."

Kovic said the experience was positive for her and hopes it will help reach others who are suffering through something similar.

"I got into this for myself, but in retrospect, part of the conceptual idea was to help others," Kovic said. "I really want people to come forward to get help and seek help. That's what it's all about, I think. My intentions are pretty pure."

Kovic is close to earning a degree in communities counseling from Wilmington University and has been interning at ABR Counseling Associates with licensed mental health counselor Joseph B. Hicks for some time.

Hicks said he never knew she suffered from bulimia until after she was selected to appear on the show.

"I didn't have a clue," he said. "When we met, all I knew was we got along well. My relationship with Elizabeth has been more about enjoying the discovery process of who she is. I enjoyed being with her and we work well together."

Hicks said the two began working together on eating disorder groups in ABR's Selbyville office, though those meetings "fizzled" after a short period because of a lack of participation.

Then, when Kovic was selected to appear on "Addicted to Food," Hicks said a film crew was sent to his office to interview him as well film a makeshift eating disorder group that included Kovic.

Hicks said he had no contact with her while she was in Texas for treatment, but the two reconnected when she returned home in November.

While Kovic was away, he said he was battling his own disease — cancer — which affected his practice.

But now that Kovic has returned from Texas and Hicks' cancer is in remission, the two are eager to get back to work — Kovic helping those with eating disorders and Hicks counseling those who are suffering from the effects of cancer, among other areas.

"The wounded healer heals best," Mr. Hicks said.

He said the two have been planning ways to get eating disorder groups together at both the Dover and Selbyville offices.

" There are loads of people out there with eating disorders and the Oprah show's exposure will allow more exposure for us to get those groups up and running."

For more information on how to become involved in ABR Counseling's eating disorder group therapy sessions, call the Dover office, 1550 S. Governors Ave., at 302-678-4558, or the Selbyville office, 33124 Lighthouse Road, at 302-436-5868.

Information from: Delaware State News, http://www.newszap.com

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)