Dr. Henry Cheng
The Bach Flower Remedies invented by Dr. Edward Bach in England are special homeopathic remedies that work on the mental state. While Rescue Remedy and Rescue Sleep are well known natural sedative and sleep aids, a mixture called “Obsessiveness” containing Cherry Plum, Impatiens, Pine, Scleranthus, and Willow is known to help uncontrollable habitual movements as in tics, pacing, Parkinsonism, senile tremors, etc. Some people are lack of self esteem and confidence. They can benefit by taking a mixture of Willow, Cerato, Gentian, Larch, Pulsatilla and Aconite. Because these are homeopathic medicines, people have used them for show dogs and horse events as well.
Fear can be of variable nature. When the object of fear cannot be defined or is unknown, we use Aspen. On the other hand when we know what caused the fear, e.g. darkness, being alone, height, accident, the boss, a mean teacher, etc., we can try Mimulus. When there is a death in the family, one can take Mustard and Star of Bethlehem to help alleviate the feeling of gloom, depression and deep sadness. Walnut is a remedy for change. Hence the stress from moving, change of job, new relationships, and even menopause may be alleviated with this remedy.
John Swanson was an old man living alone. Recently he fell and sustained a fracture so he could hardly move. Neighbours offered to help him with his grocery and cooking and he refused. His nephew offered to bring him to the doctor. He also refused. His friends knew he needed help but did not know how to make John open himself up. I asked them to give him Water Violet. After a few doses and upon further persuasion, John finally sighed and said, “OK I’ll go to the hospital.”
Winnie Cohan was so unfortunate that she missed Lady Luck with every job, every boy friend, and every thing in her life. She had been bitter over all the adversities that she had to go through in life. She lost her interest in life and kept complaining, “Why me? Why is God so unfair?” I gave her Willow. After a few weeks she came back saying that she was calmer, much happier, that she had just started a new job and a promising relationship.
Mary Hunter just found out that her boy friend had cheated on her again and let her rage out by breaking things in her house. After that she went to her boyfriend’s house and messed up his home too. Still she could not calm down. She was detained in the police station in which she kept bursting with unbearable anguish. One of her friends happened to be my client and she came to ask me what she could do to calm her down. I gave her Sweet Chestnut and her friend said she went back to work the same afternoon.
Jill Johnson was a little girl in elementary school. Her teacher told her parents that Jill would be upset with the slightest failure or hindrance to the task that she was doing. She got frustrated too easily with the slightest difficulty. I told her mother to give Jill some Gentian. After a few weeks, the teacher said that Jill’s work ethics had improved.
Pauline Firth could never make up her mind. First she wanted to become a legal secretary. Then she wanted to be a paramedic. She even applied for both training courses and both schools accepted her. She could not make up her mind. This bothered her so much she could not sleep for the whole week. Her mother came for advice and I asked her to give her daughter Scleranthus. After a few days she calmed down, made a decision to go for paramedics school and she slept well ever since.
John’s boss was a tyrant. He thought that all his subordinates were stupid and he enjoyed mocking them. His life was miserable, his face always drawn, and his mouth always mumbling. I asked John to sneak some Vine and Beech into his boss’ water bottle. After a few weeks, John saw the first ever smile on his boss’ face.
There are 38 single Bach Flower remedies and their usage is endless. The way to go by choosing them is to get a summary chart, read through, and assign scores of from 0 to 10 to each of them. At the end, pick the top five highest scores and do up a mixture. Take 5 drops once a day for chronic conditions, or once every 30 minutes for acute conditions.
Henry Cheng is a medical graduate of the University of London, England and is now Certified Natural Products Consultant at Cloverdale Pharmasave Health Centre.
