One of my all time favorite natural health subjects has got to be the Bach Flower Remedies.
There are 38 different remedies each one for a different emotional state. They can be combined as we sometimes have different emotional states going on at any one time. But ultimately it works like peeling away the outer layers of an onion until you reach the center. Until we get to our actual flower type so to speak.
To understand how Bach Flowers work we need to understand more about Dr. Edward Bach. Dr. Bach studied medicine at the University College in London, where he was also House Surgeon (the senior member of surgical staff responsible for carrying out the orders of the attending surgeon). Later he worked in general practice on Harley Street in London which would be equivalent to having a private medical practice on Park Avenue in New York City. As a bacteriologist and pathologist he worked on vaccines and a set of homeopathic nosodes still known as the seven Bach nosodes. Nosodes are like a homeopathic immunization to build up an immune response against a specific disease.
Even though he was very successful in his practice he was unhappy with the way doctors were expected to focus on diseases and ignore the people who were suffering from them. In 1930 he walked away from his very lucrative practice to devote the rest of his life to develop this kinder gentler way of medicine.
Dr. Bach found there were 38 states of mental unrest or unbalance and found a remedy in nature to help the person suffering from it to a more balanced state.
Dr. Bach found that when he treated the personalities and feelings of his patients their unhappiness and physical distresses would be alleviated. This was due to the natural healing potential in their bodies being unblocked and allowed to work once again.
This is a list of the 38 remedies. I will be giving an explanation of one each week along with an herb, vitamin, mineral or other health related subject. If you would like to learn more about these wonderful remedies follow this blog by clicking on the follow link in the upper left corner.
Agrimony – mental torture behind a cheerful face
Aspen - fear of unknown things
Beech - intolerance
Centaury – the inability to say no
Cerato – lack of trust in one’s own decisions
Cherry Plum – fear of the mind giving way
Chestnut Bud – failure to learn from mistakes
Chicory – selfish, possessive love
Clematis – dreaming of the future without working in the present
Crab Apple – the cleansing remedy, also for self-hatred
Elm – overwhelmed by responsibility
Gentian – discouragement after a setback
Gorse – hopelessness and despair
Heather – self-centeredness and self-concern
Holly – hatred, envy and jealousy
Honeysuckle – living in the past
Hornbeam – procrastination, tiredness at the thought of doing something
Impatiens – impatience
Larch – lack of confidence
Mimulus – fear of known things
Mustard – deep gloom for no reason
Oak – the plodder who keeps going past the point of exhaustion
Olive – exhaustion following mental or physical effort
Pine – guilt
Red Chestnut – over-concern for the welfare of loved ones
Rock Rose – terror and fright
Rock Water – self-denial, rigidity and self-repression
Scleranthus – inability to choose between alternatives
Star of Bethlehem – shock
Sweet Chestnut – extreme mental anguish, when everything has been tried and there is no light left
Vervain - over-enthusiasm
Vine – dominance and inflexibility
Walnut – protection from change and unwanted influences
Water Violet – pride and aloofness
White Chestnut - unwanted thoughts and mental arguments
Wild Oat – uncertainty over one’s direction in life
Wild Rose – drifting, resignation, apathy
Willow – self-pity and resentment
Do one, two or three of these remedies jump out at you or does one in particular tug at you?