Bach Flower Remedies
by Stefan Ball

Bach Flower Remedies are medicines for the emotions: simple, natural preparations used to treat everyday emotional states such as worry, anxiety and lack of concentration.

They were discovered in the 1930's by Dr Edward Bach, a bacteriologist and pathologist whose career took him from University College Hospital to the London Homoeopathic Hospital and a successful Harley Street practice.

Bach was convinced that the path to true health was to treat the individual. He found that specially-prepared plants could resolve emotional imbalances, and that well-balanced people got better physically because their bodies were free to heal themselves. By the time he died in 1936 Dr Bach had discovered 38 remedies that could be combined to treat every possible emotional state.

There are two main ways to take Bach Flower Remedies. One is to put two drops of each selected remedy into a glass of water and sip from this until the problem has passed. Alternatively the two drops can be put into a clean empty 30ml dropper bottle which is then topped up with mineral water .

It is impossible to overdose on them or become addicted or build up tolerance, which makes them an ideal complement to other courses of treatment.

The most famous remedy is Rescue"! Remedy. This is a mix of five remedies - Rock Rose for terror, Clematis for light-headedness, Impatiens for agitation, Cherry Plum for loss of self-control and Star of Bethlehem for shock - specially selected to help anyone going through a crisis.

For more information contact The Dr Edward Bach Centre, Mount Vernon, Bakers Lane, Sotwell, Oxon OX10 0PZ - Tel 01491 834678 www.bachcentre.com

Stefan Ball is a consultant at the Bach Centre and the author of many books on the remedies, including The Bach Remedies Workbook and Teach Yourself Bach Flower Remedies.