Bach Flower Remedies
A great many people have heard of Rescue Remedy™,
which is used by all sorts of people to cope with crises
and everyday emergencies. But how many know about the 38
individual flower remedies that are part of the same system
of medicine, a system unusual in that it is aimed at treating
the emotions alone, rather than their physical manifestations?
Dr Edward Bach, MB, BS, MRCS, LRCP, DPH, was a well-known
bacteriologist, pathologist and homeopath whose career took
him from University College Hospital to the London Homeopathic
Hospital and a successful Harley Street practice. His orthodox
researches culminated in a series of oral vaccines that
are still known as the seven Bach nosodes, but even though
this work received great acclaim Bach himself was not satisfied.
He wanted to replace the vaccines with plant material which
he felt would be more effective. To this end he began experimenting
in 1928 with medicines made from flowers.
Bach had always been more interested in the people suffering
disease than in the diseases themselves - a fact that made
him unusual at that time. But his work with the flower remedies
convinced him that true health could only be maintained
by treating the individual personality instead of concentrating
exclusively on the diseases of the body. He found that by
selecting flower remedies according to the personality and
emotional states of individuals he was able to resolve these
imbalances, and that well-balanced people got better physically
because their bodies were quite literally free to heal themselves.
By the time he died in 1936 Dr Bach had discovered the
38 remedies that were needed to treat every possible emotional
state, with each individual remedy being aimed at a particular
emotion or characteristic. Sometimes people find it strange
that only 38 can deal with everything, but in fact used
in combination over 292 million different mental states
are covered by these 38 “primary” remedies,
which are:
• Agrimony for people who put a brave face on their
troubles
• Aspen for people who are anxious or afraid but don’t
know why
• Beech for people who are intolerant and critical
of others.
• Centaury for people who allow others to impose on
them
• Cerato for people who doubt their own judgement
• Cherry Plum for uncontrolled, irrational thoughts
and the fear of doing something awful
• Chestnut Bud for people who repeat mistakes and
don’t learn from experience
• Chicory for over-possessive, selfish people who
cling to their loved ones
• Clematis for day-dreamers
• Crab Apple for those who dislike something about
the way they look and as a general cleanser
• Elm for responsible, capable people who in a crisis
doubt their ability to cope
• Gentian for people disheartened when something goes
wrong
• Gorse for people who have lost hope, often without
cause
• Heather for talkative types who are obsessed with
their own problems
• Holly for negative feelings of hatred, envy, jealousy
and suspicion
• Honeysuckle for people who live in the past
• Hornbeam for mental tiredness at the thought of
a coming task
• Impatiens for impatience and irritation at other
people’s slowness
• Larch for fear of failure and lack of confidence
• Mimulus for people who are afraid of something real
that they can name
• Mustard for gloom and depression with no known cause
• Oak for strong, indefatigable people who can over-extend
themselves by trying too hard
• Olive for people physically drained by exertion
or illness
• Pine for those who blame themselves when things
go wrong
• Red Chestnut for excessive worry about the welfare
of loved ones
• Rock Rose for extreme fright and terror
• Rock Water for people whose self-discipline and
high standards are carried to excess
• Scleranthus for people who find it hard to choose
between possible courses of action
• Star of Bethlehem for sudden frights and shock
• Sweet Chestnut for utter despair and anguish
• Vervain for enthusiastic people who are always on
the go
• Vine for domineering people
• Walnut to help protect against outside influences
and the effects of change
• Water Violet for private, reserved people who can
appear proud and arrogant
• White Chestnut for persistent worrying thoughts
• Wild Oat for people unable to find a direction for
their lives
• Wild Rose for people who resign themselves without
complaint or effort to everything life throws at them
• Willow for people who are full of self-pity, resentment
and bitterness
When using Bach flower remedies it is essential to ignore
as far as possible any physical symptoms or disease. This
can be a hard to do, but the physical side of disease can
of course be treated using any other appropriate system
of healing, whether orthodox or complementary. The remedies
themselves are selected according to the personality of
the person being treated. For example, a kind gentle person
who found it hard to say ‘no’ to other people
would be given Centaury, while someone who always tries
to laugh things off even when he is undergoing torture inside
would need Agrimony. In addition, the current mental state
is taken into account so that someone who was worrying all
the time would need White Chestnut while someone who was
feeling a bit despondent after a setback would be given
Gentian.
The effect of the remedies is to transform negative thoughts
and behaviour into positive ones. They do not of course
alter the personality or bring instant nirvana or bring
back your past lives – instead they bring you gently
back to yourself so that you can go on learning from the
life that you are living now. So taking Centaury would not
turn a kind person into a bossy tyrant; she would still
be gentle and kind; but in addition she would be better
able to draw the line and as a result wouldn’t suffer
from exploitation by more ruthless characters. And the White
Chestnut worrier would be able to think more constructively
about problems instead of circling endlessly around them
and never reaching a rational conclusion.
Dr Bach once gave nine remedies to one of his patients
at a single time, but in practice it is possible in almost
all cases to limit the number given to six or seven. There
are two main ways to take them. One is to put two drops
of each selected remedy into a glass of water and sip from
this at least four times a day - more if necessary - or
until the problem has passed. Alternatively the two drops
can be put into a clean empty 30ml dropper bottle which
is then topped up with mineral water. From this bottle -
known as a treatment bottle - four drops are taken four
times a day. Kept in the fridge and used regularly a treatment
bottle will last up to three weeks.
The treatment bottle dose is the minimum needed for the
remedies to work effectively. You can take them more frequently
for moments of crisis, because they are completely safe:
it is impossible to overdose on them or become addicted
or build up tolerance. In addition Bach flower remedies
do not affect the actions of other medicines or therapies,
nor are they affected by them. This and the fact that they
are free of side effects free makes them an ideal complement
to other courses of treatment. You should always keep in
mind, however, that the remedies are preserved in neat brandy,
and for this reason use caution when giving them to recovering
alcoholics or people who are allergic to alcohol or object
to its use on religious or moral grounds.
As for the Rescue Remedy™, it is a mix of five remedies
- Rock Rose for terror, Clematis for light-headedness, Impatiens
for agitation, Cherry Plum for loss of self-control and
Star of Bethlehem for shock. Dr Bach selected these five
remedies because he felt there would be at least something
in the mix that would help anyone going through a crisis.
To take it you simply put four drops in a glass of water
and sip as required - and in an emergency, if there is no
water available, you can put the drops straight on the tongue
or rub them on the pulse points. Common uses for Rescue
Remedy™ include calming down the victims of accidents
and combatting pre-operation nerves. Many midwives use them
to help mothers through labour.
Dr Bach’s original remedies are still made today
at the Bach Centre, Mount Vernon, the Oxfordshire cottage
where he spent the last years of his life. Since 1991 practitioner
courses have been run at the Centre and are now run in the
USA, Canada, Spain, Holland and a dozen other countries
around the world. As a result nearly a thousand trained
practitioners are now registered with the Centre and working
in 37 countries.
Information Courtesy of
:
Stefan Ball, Consultant at the Dr Edward Bach Centre
For more information contact
The Dr Edward Bach Centre,
Mount Vernon
Bakers Lane
Sotwell
Oxon
OX10 0PZ
UK
For Further information visit the website
www.bachcentre.com
