Bach flowers: drops for well-being

A typical English country cottage surrounded by a flower garden. That’s how it is Mount Vernonthe home in which the doctor edward bach spent the last two years of his life studying the therapeutic properties of wild flowers that grew nearby.

Almost 80 years have passed since then, but in Mount Vernon everything seems to remain the same: there they continue to make, with the same utensils and methods, the 38 flower remedies on which Dr. Bach’s therapy is based.

The objective of this treatment is for us to listen to our interior again, balancing ourselves on an emotional level, as Cristina Moragas, flower therapist, explains to us. “The remedies are used to counteract any emotion that makes us feel bad: depression, anguish, fear, doubt, resentment, anger… They help us become aware of these emotions and give us the necessary calm to deal with them constructively.”

During the years in which he worked as a doctor, Edward Bach observed that the personality and emotions of each individual influenced the evolution of disorders. “The flower essences they act on the state of mind, compensating the nervous system and stabilizing thought, which is why many physical symptoms disappear. They do not affect the disease or the physical body, but rather the state of mind involved in the disease”, points out Cristina Moragas.

How do Bach flower remedies work?

“Bach flowers They are not infusions of medicinal plants nor phytotherapeutic extracts, as they do not contain any active ingredient”, point out from the Society for the Study and Diffusion of Doctor Bach’s Therapy of Catalonia (Sedibac).

So how do they work? Enric Homedes, vice president of the entity, explains it to us: “What Bach perceived in certain plants was their vibrational information. Someone who feels fear vibrates at a certain frequency, and Bach realized that some plant species could counteract and balance specific fears.”

To extract the plant vibrational informationthat concentration of energy that can be used to heal negative emotional states, two methods are used: solarization and boiling. The first consists of leaving the flowers in the sun, in a glass bowl with spring water, for three hours.

In the second, these are brought to a boil for 30 minutes. With the droplets of the resulting tincture, the stock is prepared (first dilution) by adding grape alcohol to the essence so that, in this way, it is preserved in perfect condition without altering each of its properties. Individualized formulas are prepared from stock bottles.

A treatment from the positive

“The flower remediesIn addition, they help to better manage any alteration that a living being has on an emotional, mental, physical and spiritual level”, says Enric Homedes. And they do so by enhancing the positive part of emotions and increasing our ability to assume them freely, just as explained Stefan Ball, expert of the Bach Center in Mount Vernonin an interview published in 2006.

This could be one of the differences between flower essences and other therapies such as homeopathy, which is based on administering, in tiny doses, the same substance that generates the symptoms of a specific disorder.

The different Bach flower remedies and their functions

Each of the 38 remedies are administered for different emotions and behavior patterns and are classified into seven negative groups (loneliness, hypersensitivity, uncertainty, discouragement and despair, lack of interest, excessive concern for the well-being of others and various fears).

For example, Pine (pine) helps manage guilt, water purple (water violet) excessive isolation, Mimulus (mimulus) insecurity, and Holly (holly) jealousy or rage. But, in addition to identifying the emotion, it is important to know what is hidden behind that emotion, why it was generated. And it is here where the role of the floral therapist takes on special prominence.

“Identifying oneself the flowers one needs is not easy, even for therapists who know them well, because it is difficult to see in oneself what is developing in the unconscious. For me, for example, looking for them on the Internet or in a book and start choosing the flowers randomly only with intuition. The therapists themselves ask our colleagues for advice to help us choose the ones we need“, explains Cristina Moragas in this regard.

Rescue remedy

He Rescue remedy combines five Bach flower remedies and is a formula to use in emergencies; a shock treatment, which stabilizes the person quickly, not an essence to be used frequently.

Includes Cherry Plum (cerasiferous) that manages the fear of losing control; RockRose (Helianthemum), panic or terror; clematis (clematis), lack of concentration; impatiens, (impatience), tension; and Star of Bethlehem (chicken milk), the states of schok.

Know the plants before using them

So, Is it not possible to prepare our own flower remedies? Edward Bach himself advocated that there be, in every home, a first-aid kit of flowers. Even his first notebook on therapy, written in 1930, was titled “Heal Yourselves.”

The self prescriptionas long as there is prior knowledge of the flowers, it can be very effective, especially if you want to take them on time, for example to manage fear of flying or nerves before an operation.

But if what is intended with the flowers is to do a deeper work, of evolution and personal growth, the help of a good therapist is necessary and essential. The different societies for the study and dissemination of Dr. Bach’s therapy in Spain (Seflor in the Community of Madrid, Sedibac in Catalonia, Flobana in Navarra, Galibach in Galicia…) have flower therapist lists that can guide us in the search for professionals.

Is rescue abused?

This emergency self-prescription for hectic moments, without prior knowledge of the flowers, it can generate a misuse of the most popular remedies, such as “rescue remedy” or Rescue Remedy. “This product is often used excessively as if it were the floral panacea of ​​the century”, adds Enric Homedes.

This remedy is effective in moments of anguish or restlessness due to a specific situation, such as receiving bad news, but it is not intended as a long-term treatment. “I think there are a lot of people who don’t know that they could benefit a lot more from taking a combination of different flowers instead of just going to the Rescue Remedy,” adds Moragas.

It must be taken into account that when the wrong flower is chosen, since it does not vibrate at the same frequency as the emotion that it is intended to balance, does not cause any effectneither positive nor negative, explains the therapist.

How are Bach flower remedies taken?

Individualized preparations are usually made by adding to a 30ml opaque dropper bottle (glass or plastic) mineral water and two drops of each of the chosen essences (four if using Rescue Remedy).

It is recommended to use, at most, between 5 and 8 flowers in each preparation, to prioritize a line of action and not try to manage too many emotional states at the same time. As a general rule, it is recommended to take 4 drops, 4 times a day. The number of doses may vary depending on the problem; especially in specific cases, in which a greater prescription may be needed.

For them to be effective you have to respect the frequency, spacing the doses during the day. It’s the most important thing. “It is of little use to administer 16 drops of flowers in the morning and not take them again all day,” warns Cristina Moragas.

The most common flower essences

Some of the remedies that can be used to address common imbalances are:

fears: mimulus (mimulus) is effective in treating fear of familiar things. AND Aspen (aspen) focuses on anxiety of unknown origin.Uncertainty: gentian (gentian) helps to gain confidence in the face of any obstacle. AND Cerato (ceratostigma) helps those who constantly ask for advice.Lack of interest in the present: Olive (olive) is a very suitable flower for physical or mental exhaustion. white chestnut (white chestnut) is indicated to stop repetitive thoughts.Discouragement: Willow (willow) can help people who often assume the role of victim. larch (larch) balances those who expect failure, believing that they will never succeed in life.Hypersensitivity: Walnut (walnut) facilitates adaptation to all changes, and Centaury (minor centaury) can be useful for people who find it hard to say no.

what the studies say

Although consuming them in drops is the most usual, Bach flowers are also used to prepare creams, eye drops, poultices and vaporizers that also have positive results. The fact that they do not contain active ingredients means that, in chemical analyses, only water and alcohol are identified, but not the essence of the flower.

Despite this, the WHO recognized Bach flower remedies as complementary therapy in 1975, and there are more and more research groups that contradict the theories that speak of a placebo effect of this treatment. One of them, from the Marta Abreu de las Villas Central University in Cuba, is carrying out research with children, adolescents and adults that demonstrate the usefulness of these remedies to treat, among others, adjustment disorders in schoolchildren or relationship problems between parents and children.

“In children the flowers act quickly, because they do not have the mental interference of adults. This rules out the placebo effect that is usually attributed to them”, maintains Cristina Moragas. An opinion shared by Enric Homedes: “scientifically they are fighting to be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of Bach flower remediesbut empirically there are studies carried out successfully with animals and children, in which there cannot be a placebo effect”, he maintains.

wellness drops

If they are administered the times prescribed, continuously and for the necessary time, Bach flower remedies are an effective tool for managing emotions that prevent us from flowing with our own nature, increasing emotional, physical and mental well-being.

In addition, since it does not contain active ingredients, flower remedies do not cause interactions or side effectswhich allows its use even in babies and pregnant women.

Enric Homedes explains that thanks to the flowers, the empathy, so necessary in his profession. They have also helped him not to easily fall into certain roles. Taking them has made it easier for Cristina Moragas to feel much more self-confident, more awake and aware.

As Stefan Ball explained to us a few years ago, the flower remedies of Doctor Bach they can contribute to personal growth in the sense that, without changing the way you are, they help you to be more yourself.