Testimonials

Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor and the whole team have given me a new life. I was powerless over my eating disorder for over ten years and couldn’t imagine a different life for myself. I have a sense of hope for the first time, and faith in my ability to recover. I will always be grateful to the entire team for all of their guidance and support. The living environment is calm, and the garden is beautiful. The view of the mountains and trees have given me moments of joy and will be missed.

I came into Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor extremely scared. I couldn’t see a future for myself – living with an eating disorder just didn’t seem to be worth it. I felt stuck. I felt useless. And I felt like a failure. I was slowly wasting away in mind, body and spirit. When I left ten and a half weeks later, I was still scared, yes, but I was now hopeful too. I knew that things would most probably turn out just fine. And what a relief it was. The team wouldn’t give up on me, as much as I, at first, may have wanted them to. I was forced to learn resilience, to learn distress tolerance. And I did it, through all the tears and screaming resistance. I have never been so grateful for that which, in the moment, I hated so much. And now the time has come to leave, and I really don’t want to – how ironic! The therapists, the nurses, the staff, the other patients… these are all people that I will remember for the rest of my life. They are people to whom I actually owe my life, as dramatic as it sounds. When my time does come, I want to have had made a difference. I don’t want to die just another body in the ground. Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor has given me a choice: to either make something of my existence or not. To do the former, I will need to be in recovery. Anything I now go on to accomplish will be, in part, thanks to Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor and the wonderful individuals within its walls.”

Before Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor, my life was small, miserable and coming to its end. It was a life dedicated to my ED and addiction; there was no room for any happiness. Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor has this beautiful, clever, unique way of exposing you to your anxiety without you even realising it. I’ve learned to feel safe around people by sharing rooms, sharing my life in groups and by being surrounded by a wonderful community. There was a time in my life where I couldn’t sit next to anyone without thinking my world would end and now, thanks to the programme and team, I have my life back. I will go to university, I will have friends, love and health. What I love so deeply about Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor is that every single rule, every element of this place has a purpose. I catch myself now doing things that I could never do, and I realise I am capable because of an exposure or group or something one of the community had said to me. The nurses and whole team are remarkable, dedicated, compassionate individuals who will fight for your recovery with you. I am so deeply grateful to have been given this beautiful chance at life. I want to live now, and I shall.”

Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor has been the safest place where I could have been to learn that recovering from an eating disorder is possible. The whole team of therapists, nurses, admission and office staff were kind, compassionate and truly had their hearts in the right place and the dedication to support us. I learned to appreciate food again but most importantly to feel again and deal with my past trauma. The programme gave me what I needed to live freely again.

Before coming to Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor I was very lost. I couldn’t find the way out. I tried everything to make me feel better. I tried to do outpatient recovery on my own. It would work for a while, but every time the things I had suppressed got up I would get too overwhelmed and grabbed back to my ED. I thought why would I work so hard, if in the end I still feel the same. And this is true: if you manage the food, the real problems and thing you try to avoid aren’t “fixed” as well. This is one of the first things I’ve learned here; it’s not about the food. I came here with the mentality to just put myself away for twelve weeks and then all of my problems will be solved, and I will be happy. I can learn all the tools to solve them, and I will be “fixed”. I could become the person I was before my ED again, the old me. I was convinced that there was something wrong with me. That I did something wrong. That I don’t have the right to feel the pain I feel. It was always my fault. I’ve learned here to see things from another perspective. Life just happens, you cannot control the feelings you feel, but you can control what you do with them. I’ve learned to be more gentle with myself, to feel sad and to be more compassionate with myself, to not always be so hard on myself. It was a process of just sitting with feelings I didn’t want to feel. I had to go into the dark woods and trust that I could get out of it. A bit overwhelming at first, but manageable. After all these things I could have never done on my own without the safety Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor gave me and especially the hope people gave me, when I couldn’t find it myself. Going to the same process with people who experience the same was very comforting. I’ve learned to talk, to accept things how they are, to feel that I am good enough for me, to set boundaries, to grieve and cope, to embrace all the good and bad self, to be content and have hope. Looking back on my life before coming here I did everything to survive, and now I know how to live. Not the old me, not the ED me, a new me.

Before coming into Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor my ED had complete control over me and life felt unmanageable. I am so grateful for being transferred as I have been equipped with the right tools to fight against the monster that was keeping me from living life to its full capacity. I have taken many valuable lessons from all the group and individual sessions that the therapy programme has to offer. I have constantly felt supported and guided from all the staff members here, not a moment went by where I felt alone. I thank Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor for equipping me with the right tools to live free again.

I came into Netcare Akeso Montrose Manor as a scared, hopeless little girl and I am leaving as a strong, capable woman full of hope and life. They gave me a safe space to discover who I am and the courage to be her. All the people, lessons and tools will stay with me for my entire life. I am so grateful to have a chance at life again. Recovery isn’t easy but it’s so worth it!