Bach Flowers for Stress and Turmoil

F lower essences act gently but profoundly on a person’s emotional and mental state.  They give relief quickly and bring the person back into a state of balance and peace so that they can face their day and current challenges.  Have you ever had the feeling of waking up first thing in the morning, refreshed after a good sleep, energised and ready to face the day?  That initial feeling of being centred and peaceful often doesn’t last for long as we embark on our day and meet the challenges ahead.  Bach Flower Essences are wonderful at helping us maintain that peaceful centredness, particularly under times of stress.  There are 36 remedies to choose from and they cover many different ways that each individual can respond to stressful situations.

Here are my top 10 useful Bach Flower Remedies for stress.  If you recognize yourself in any of the remedy pictures below, Flower essences are safe to try.

You can take 2 drops of the concentrate (4 of Rescue Remedy) as a single dose.  I often recommend taking a dose as required, but often 1-3 times daily is more than enough. This can be straight under the tongue or you can add it to your water bottle to sip on throughout the day.  This can be continued until the symptoms are gone or reduced or until you forget to take it again.  What I love about Flower essences is that if you’ve misdiagnosed yourself and taken the wrong one, it won’t do you any harm.  This is why some people have tried Rescue Remedy (which is a blend of 5 flower essences) and found that it was ineffective.  They probably needed one of the other 31 remedies in the set!  You can take more than one flower essence at a time and a good Flower Essence practitioner can put your own individual blend together.  Here are the 5 ingredients of Rescue Remedy and the indications for them:

Star of Bethlehem:  Useful after any huge shock or trauma.  This is a great remedy when someone has never been well since a traumatic physical event or emotional shock.  It removes the shock from the body which allows healing to begin to take place.  This remedy helps to restore energy and to increase mental clarity.  It helps to put you back together again so normal function can resume on all levels after trauma.

Rock Rose:  Acute fear and terror that can be observed by others.  This is the typical fright/flight response that can occur after a severe shock, near miss while driving or perhaps in children awakening from a nightmare.  This is normally a temporary state and may even feel like a ‘punch in the stomach’.

Impatiens:  For impatience and irritability towards others.  This is for inner nervous tension inside that will show itself in quick reactions of anger and frustration.  Great for A type personalities and also for children who are tantruming because they don’t want to wait any longer for mum to finish what they are doing!

Cherry Plum:  This remedy is for terror and anxiety states that are held tightly inward.  This is the kind of anxiety that makes one fear that they might lose control or break down.  Very useful when we are challenged by situations in our life where the response is extreme anxiety on the inside while appearing calm on the outside.

Clematis:  Withdrawn energy and lost in thought.  Often these people can be dreamy and in their own world.  There can be little reaction emotionally to events and also their immune system can be less vigorous.

The following five Bach Flower Essences are also useful in times of stress depending on the individual response.

Walnut:  This essence is needed when there has been a great change in a person’s life such as moving towns, changing jobs or schools.  Often the person who needs Walnut will yearn for the past to such an extent it prevents them from being able to settle into the new and appreciate what this holds for them.  It helps someone adjust to a new start.  Walnut may be particularly useful to those in Christchurch who are leaving the city or have other significant changes that they must adjust to.

White Chestnut:  When the mind is dwelling on certain thoughts or worries and they seem to be going around in one’s head non-stop.  There might be difficulty going to sleep because of such a busy mind or perhaps the mind keeps returning to conversations or conflicts from work so that the person cannot seem to rest.  After this remedy, peace is returned to the mind.

Gentian:  This remedy is for feeling discouraged, despairing and despondent.  It is when someone has lost their faith and positivity.  It is particularly helpful when this is due to being the victim of a sudden setback, especially when circumstances were on the road to recovery and then suddenly an event occurs and knocks them back even further.  This remedy gives confidence and certainty that challenges can be met and overcome.

Elm: This remedy gives strength to a person who has been coping admirably but now feels overwhelmed and that they cannot cope with circumstances.  Generally they are responsible people or have responsibility for others, perhaps an employer or head of the family.  After the remedy, problems will be seen clearly and the sense of overwhelm will decrease.  Energy will renew as well as the person’s ability and belief in themselves to cope with circumstances.

Aspen:  The person needing Aspen will have a lot of fear and anxiety that seems to pervade their being.  Not all the fears will be conscious.  An Aspen person may have panic attacks, a vague feeling of anxiety or nervousness, trembling or anxiety in the stomach.  After the remedy the fear lessens, their confidence increases and there will be a stronger sense of security.  They will feel calmer and their nervous system will not be so high-strung and sensitive.