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Bach Flower Remedies

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Born in 1886, Edward Bach was an English doctor, bacteriologist and pathologist, who was conducting research into vaccines when he became interested in a more holistic approach to medicine. Dissatisfied with the tendency to treat the disease rather than the whole person, he began collecting plants and in particular flowers – the most highly developed part of a plant – to find remedies.

He believed that illness was the result of internal conflict, and that negative moods such as unhappiness, fear or worry, caused a lack of harmony which ultimately manifested themselves in physical disease. By correcting this emotional imbalance, illness could be treated or avoided. “Health depends on being in harmony with our souls,” he asserted.

Bach abandoned scientific methods of research and turned instead to his intuition to guide him to the right plants. Whilst experiencing a negative emotion he would hold his hand over different plants, and if one alleviated the problem he would ascribe to it the power to heal. In this way he identified 38 flower remedies that can be used alone, or in conjunction with others to treat emotional and spiritual conditions.

The flowers are divided into seven groups:

Face Your Fears gives courage, reassurance and peace of mind to the fearful.

Know Your Own Mind helps with feelings, and can increase decisiveness and a sense of direction.

Find Joy and Hope overcomes feelings of despondency, despair and self-doubt.

Reach Out to Others helps people who feel lonely or alone to connect with others.

Stand Your Ground helps those who put on a brave face become more assertive and constant.

Live and Let Live aids tolerance and the ability to unwind in those who are overbearing and possessive.

Live the Day gives enthusiasm and tranquillity to those who dwell too much on the past instead of enjoying the present.

In addition, Bach developed the Rescue Remedy, which is a ready-made combination of 5 flower essences that can provide comfort and reassurance for daily stressful situations.

The remedies are usually taken orally by mixing with water, although they are also available as droppers, sprays, liquid melts and pastilles. Only a few drops are required which should be taken several times a day. In some cases results can be instant, whilst in others it could take several days for any benefits to be realised.

There is little scientific evidence to prove the effectiveness of Bach’s Flower remedies, and some claim that any benefits experienced are due to the Placebo effect. That said, they have now been in existence for over 80 years, and there are plenty of testimonials available on the internet giving credence to their effectiveness and healing properties.









 

  • http://www.netweather.tv IanM

    I thought the Bach range, and all other flower remedies had been reclassified as food and therefore can’t make any claims or reference to curing or alleviating symptoms? I also found an anecdote on the internet that claimed a man learned how to tap dance after eating a chocolate egg, it doesn’t mean eating the chocolate egg helped with the dancing…

  • lauriej1

    Rescue Remedy should be in the glove box of everyone’s car in the event of an accident. It’s excellent for treating shock, anxiety and even grief. Bach’s intention was to create a system of self-help medicines that could be used by anyone at home without any specialized form of medical training.
    Dr. Bach, along with his colleague Dr. Patterson, are renowned for having created the Homeopathic Bowel Nosodes based on their pioneering research into the human gut microbiome in the early 1920′s, nearly 100 years ahead of present efforts.

  • Sandra Courtney

    Thank you for helping educate your readers about the Bach Flower Remedies. I have used Rescue Remedy in the past and have recommended it to many of my friends.

  • ReallyGoodMedicine

    Bach flower essences are a life-saver for me. I rely on Rescue Remedy to repair the stresses of the day and give me a good night’s sleep. I wouldn’t be without it. It’s safe and natural so I don’t have to rely on expensive, toxic, addictive drugs or pay for a visit to the doctor to get a prescription.

    I could not recommend the flower essences more highly.

  • https://localbuzzmagazine.com/west-berkshire Local Buzz Magazine

    The Buzz Magazine

    Having done a little research into what everyone has commented, these are our
    findings:
    The word Remedy and it’s meaning:
    Remedy – Oxford Dictionary used as a noun
    1 traditional herbal remedies treatment, cure, medicine,
    medication, medicament, drug, restorative; antidote, prophylactic; nostrum, panacea,
    cure-all; therapy archaic physic, specific
    Remedy – Dictionary.com
    noun, plural remedies.
    1. something that cures or relieves a disease or bodily disorder; a healing
    medicine, application, or treatment.
    2. something that corrects or removes an evil of any kind.
    3. Law. legal redress; the legal means of enforcing a right or redressing a wrong.
    4. Coining. a certain allowance at the mint for deviation from the standard weight and fineness of coins; tolerance.
    verb (used with object),
    remedied, remedying.
    5. to cure, relieve, or heal.
    6. to restore to the natural or proper condition; put right: to remedy a matter.
    7. to counterac t or remove: to remedy an evil.
    Like most people, therapy comes in many forms, and that includes the ‘Essence’ of nature. However that may be deemed to relax, or add to your therapeutic cure.
    It could be Lavender scented baths, drinking green tea, listening to music, going running, whatever it may be as long as it’s relaxing and easing your inward soul.

    We ask a few questions that maybe can be answered:
    1) If Bach Flower Remedies are classifies as a food, then surely most Vitamin tables should be classified under Metals, Zinc, Calcium, or as in Vitamin C under food again and not as ‘Remedy’ to help cure or prevent?
    2) If for the fact that Bach Flower Remedies had alcohol for preservation rather than to intoxicate, should it not then have been classified under Alcoholic Beverage, with an age restriction if it was so potent?
    3) We could also then argue the fact that certain smells cause certain metabolic reactions within each person differently, Lavender, Orange etc, these are essences, and used as remedies for certain ailments, headaches,
    etc, should these be unclassified as essences and re-classified as just flower smells?

    The questions could go on, but for now, I am sure our readers have their own besides ours, we’d love to hear from you. Whichever choice you choose, ensure that you are using it correctly.

    For extra reading you can read the following:

    http://www.nelsonsnaturalworld…

    http://www.nightingale-collabo…

    http://nutri
    plexformulas.com/t…

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z…

    http://www.betterhealth.vic.go…

    7:29 a.m., Thursday Sept. 18

  • AlanHenness

    @buzznewbury:disqus

    Thanks for sorting out my comments!

    The dictionary meaning is useful, but that’s not what decides whether a product is a medicine or remedy or whatever.

    There is indeed a debate to be had as to what constitutes a medicine, a food or food supplement, a herbal product, etc. The Medicines regulator, the MHRA, have the statutory responsibility to decide what is and isn’t a medicine according to the definition laid down in the EU Directive – see http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Howweregulate/Medicines/Doesmyproductneedalicence/Borderlineproducts/ for further details. The European Food Standards Agency has the responsibility of ensuring claims made for food and food supplements are based on scientific evidence, not marketing hype and spin.

    Part of this decision is how the product is presented, so it’s not just whether the product has a ‘medicinal’ effect, it’s also about whether therapeutic claims are made for it. Additionally, the dose is very important.

    Since there is no good evidence that Bach flower products have any such effect, they have finally been recognised for what they are: nothing more than alcohol products. As such, they fall under the EFSA rules on health claims for foodstuffs. The Product Licenses of Right that were given to Bach products when the 1968 Medicines Act was implemented in 1972 is an anachronism that has taken 40 years to resolve.

    You mention things like scented bath oils, drinking tea, etc: these are fine as long as you don’t claim they can do any more than help you feel relaxed!

    To address your specific questions:

    1) Vitamins can be therapeutic and could be classed as medicines – it all depends on the dosage and the presentation. EFSA restricts health claims that can be made for these as well and they could also be considered medicines by the MHRA.

    2) Bach products are only alcohol (although some similar flower are water, not alcohol) and claims of health benefits are not allowed. I assume it’s the quantity that matters here: liquor chocolates are probably very similar and they are not age restricted (as far as I know).

    3) Some smells may well cause therapeutic effects, but, again, it could well be the presentation that is the deciding factor: if you claim your orange-smelling tincture can treat colds or cancer, then you will almost certainly fall foul of the law!

    Just so it’s clear: Bach flower products do not smell of anything other than alcohol: they are not the same as aromatherapy products that actually contain a source of aroma.

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