A person in an online group I visit recently asked: “Do flower essences really work? Do you ever get to the point of not needing any flower essences for a problem ever again?” I was a bit taken aback. Flower essences are not magic fairy pills. Nobody asks a medical doctor if taking an aspirin for a headache will ensure that you never get another headache again. And certainly, if you don’t address the underlying reason for recurring headaches (emotional or physical), aspirin alone won’t solve it!
The above example was a metaphor. Flower essences are not in the same category as aspirin which is a medical pharmaceutical—they’re not any sort of drug at all (see my disclaimer text at the bottom of the page). That said, though, the same conditions hold. A flower essence that helps with a temporary emotional distress only addresses that particular situation. Even if it worked so amazingly well that the distress was gone for years, if similar conditions are then repeated you might need to use those flower essences again. And if this is a chronic situation, if you don’t address the underlying reason for your distress, the situation might never fully resolve. Once in awhile, the flower essences (rarely) might even intensify your feelings to force you to address the problem in a different way.
So, for example, a number of people have asked me for flower essences to cope with a situation they live with every day either on the job or in their home. The essences can often work to some extent as a temporary coping mechanism, but if the initiating problem is not addressed, the emotional distress can often get worse! “Why aren’t you paying attention to this?!,” your psyche might say. “Why aren’t you seeing a therapist or a social worker, talking to the HR department, getting another job, or otherwise leaving this situation?” Did you have feelings reading that? Hopelessness and despair, perhaps? THAT, then, is the underlying reason the flower essences chosen aren’t helping well enough. If Gorse, Willow, or Sweet Chestnut aren’t in your flower essence mix, you can certainly start with those to give yourself the inner resource to try again. But eventually, you are going to have to have the difficult conversation you’ve been avoiding, try things you haven’t tried before, or pick up the phone and get additional help.
By the way, so many times our intense emotions make it seem like we can’t change or get out of the difficult, even horrific, situations we’re in. But I’ve often been shocked and happily surprised to discover that the river bank I needed to climb out of the tide of distress I was in was right there all along! Helping hands have come from places I never would have expected and sometimes I didn’t need a helping hand at all! A new decision, a new attitude, a new choice, and things can either immediately transform or do so step by step.
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Flower essences are used to assist with mind-body-spirit interactions and individual results may vary. They are extremely dilute which makes them quite safe. But because so little physical substance can be detected in a flower essence solution, these products are presumed to work on an energetic or vibrational level—something that cannot be adequately tested by western scientific methods. Claims made by me, therefore, are based on personal experiences and the evidence of the combined multiple decades of case notes by Dr. Edward Bach as well as Healing Herbs and Flower Essence Services (the companies who make the ingredients I use in my products). This is not, however, accepted medical evidence or substantiated scientific evidence from a modern allopathic point of view. I am not a medical doctor or licensed healthcare practitioner.
Statements made have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information provided on my blog, websites or by this company are not a substitute for a face-to-face consultation with a health care provider, and should not be construed as individual medical or mental health advice. Consulting with a health care provider is a must for anyone taking medications or working with a medical or mental health condition, and highly recommended before using any herbal product. Please consult your doctor or health care provider for any possible contraindications and/or interactions with current medications. I trust you to seek the medical guidance you need to use any of my herbal products healthily at your own risk.