

Bach Flower Remedies
The Concept, Origins and Development of Bach Flowers Remedies
Bach Flower remedies are tinctures of water and wild plants extracts, discovered by Dr Edward Bach (hence the name)- a physician and homeopath who believed that emotional wellbeing was the key to health. These remedies were developed in the 1920’s and 1930’s and were created by placing fresh flowers or plants into natural spring water before exposing the mixture to light or boiling it. Finally, he would filter the liquid and mix it with brandy, which acted as a preservative.
The idea behind Bach remedies is in itself very similar to homeopathy, but they use fewer materials and work on a person’s emotional state rather than the physical symptoms. Furthermore, the “law of similars” that applies to homeopathy does not apply to these flower essences. (The law of similars states that if a substance in large amounts can cause a certain disease, then that same substance in small amounts could cure the disease).
The 38 essences that Dr. Edward Bach discovered are categorised in seven different groups to be able to adapt each treatment to the individual. These categories include:
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Face your fears
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Know your own mind
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Live the day
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Reach out to others
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Stand your ground
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Find joy and hope
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Live and let live
Dr Back kept the treatments and the “science” behind them very simple and approachable, in his words: ‘No science, no knowledge is necessary, apart from the simple methods described herein; and they who will obtain the greatest benefit from this God-sent Gift will be those who keep it pure as it is; free from science, free from theories, for everything in nature is simple.’
These tinctures come in a glass bottle with a dropper and a couple drops would be taken straight on the tongue or diluted in a glass of water.
So, following the thought of the seven categories, the objectives from Flower remedies are:
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Soothe anxiety
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Relieve pain, such as a carpal tunnel syndrome
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Help with ADHD
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Calm depression
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Help face one’s fears
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Help with loss and grief
As we mentioned before, flower remedies have similarities to homeopathic medicine but there are clear distinctions between the two:
once the tincture is prepared, it does not contain pharmacologically relevant amounts of constituents of the flowers they originate from to actually influence the body. According to Bach, the remedies work through the life force energy or vibration that is transmitted from the flowers to the tincture. This vibration interacts on a subtle level with the individual to rebalance the conscious and unconscious and dissolve old patterns of behaviour. By alleviating negative feelings and relieving the underlying emotional and psychological problems of the patient, a physical healing is enabled. Patients sometimes experience a worsening of their symptom before an improvement, which can manifest as an aggravation.