Define Bach Flowers

The 38 Bach Flower Remedies have been used for more than seven decades by people who want to deal with their negative emotions and find a path to mind-body health. Each of the flower remedies, which can be purchased or made from scratch and used alone or in combination with others, is recommended for dealing with specific emotional issues.

History

Edward Bach, 1886 to 1936, was an English physician and medical researcher who believed that by treating his patients' mental states or emotions, he could alleviate their physical suffering. To do this he used flowers---the most highly developed part of a plant, according to The Bach Centre. Years of trial and error, along with his natural gifts as a healer and his intuition, led Bach to identify the plants that could heal various emotional conditions.

The Flowers

The 38 flower remedies are grouped under seven general headings. For fear, rock rose, mimulus, aspen and red chestnut are recommended; for uncertainty, cerato, scleranthus, gentian, gorse, hornbeam and wild oat. Insufficient interest in present circumstances calls for clematis, honeysuckle, wild rose, olive, white chestnut, mustard or chestnut bud; for loneliness use water violet, impatiens or heather. People who are oversensitive to influences and ideas should take agrimony, centuary, walnut or holly; those who over-care for the welfare of others chicory, vervain, vine, beech or rock water. Larch, pine, elm, sweet chestnut, star of Bethlehem, willow, oak and crab apple are recommended for treating despondency or despair, according to "The Bach Flower Remedies."

Flower Remedy Preparation

According to "Secrets of Bach Flower Remedies," there are two ways of making flower remedies: the sun method and the boiling method. To use the sun method, pick flowers around 9 a.m. when the blooms are freshly opened, float them in a bowl of spring water and allow to stand in full sunshine for 3 hours. Discard flowers and mix the resulting water 50-50 with 80-proof brandy. To use the sun method, gather twigs, leaves and flowers early in the morning and boil for half an hour in mineral or spring water. Let stand until cool, then pour through a paper filter into a dropper bottle and mix 50-50 with 80-proof brandy.

Dosages

Bach Flower Remedies are commercially available in liquid form, preserved in brandy. The Bach Centre recommends putting two drops of a preparation into a 30 ml dropper bottle and filling it with mineral water, then taking four drops of this four times per day as long as symptoms persist. Alternatively, you could put two drops of the preparation directly into a glass of water or other beverage and sip from it at intervals. Two or more remedies may be combined to treat your precise mix of emotions.

Research

Austrian research published in the journal "BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine" concluded that the available research on Bach Flower Remedies tends to be biased and that there is little evidence that they are more effective than placebos. However, the researchers also reported that the remedies are deemed safe to consume.