When I brought my mom home for hospice care, I felt a little overwhelmed, not to mention sad and scared, and I confided that in a friend. She took out her phone and sent me a link to Bach Original Flowers her remedies.
There are 38 of these “dilutions”. When I scan them at home, my eyes immediately notice Elm (“overwhelmed by responsibilities”), Mustard (“deep depression”), and Red Chestnut (“fear or excessive concern for others”). It catches my eye. Eventually people will send flowers, but it’s too late to strengthen my resolve. Would you like to absorb a little bit from now?
Still, skepticism is an occupational hazard, and Bach’s site itself states that its “claims” are: [is] It is based on traditional homeopathic practices and has no accepted medical evidence. Not evaluated by FDA. ” I hesitate. And I think of the world-class botanical gardens that are our shared backyard in St. Louis. I reached out to Associate Curator Wendy Applequist. Is there any science or practice that shows why these beautiful flower essence droplets have been assigned a specific role in our psyche?
“The plants used in Bach flower remedies have many medicinal properties,” she answered, noting that willow is used for pain and fever, while beech, chestnut and oak tannins are used as astringents for diarrhea and skin disorders. “However, most of these plants do not have a reputation for being psychoactive in regular herbal medicine, and are not high on herbalists’ lists for common emotional problems such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia. It is not.”
Applequist says this is not medicinal, but a very gentle form of homeopathy in the form of flowers. The manufacturer says, “We do sun extraction or boiling water extraction and mix it with an equal amount of brandy to make a “mother tincture”.” It is then preserved in brandy and spring water, or glycerin made from sunflower. “Standard homeopathy involves multiple dilutions and shaking (“success”), but the end result is similar. The finished product has such a low botanical content that we wouldn’t expect a small amount to have any real effect (although in the case of hormonal chemicals, paradoxically as it may seem, a small dose is a large dose) ).
“People have tried to explain how homeopathy works as more than just a placebo,” she added. Even if homeopathic remedies are proven to be effective, the evidence for their effectiveness is quite weak.
“Bach, who had some exposure to homeopathy, seems to have created a negative emotional state within himself and set out to experiment with which remedies would make him feel better,” she continues. That would make both he and his customers vulnerable to the power of suggestion.
When I asked for details behind the claims (after all, the company has been thriving for 85 years and has amassed a fair amount of testimonials), Bach directed me to its website. There it states: Positive energy from flowers. ” When I pressed the spokesperson to explain how it works with an example, she repeated, “Flower energy washes away our negative emotions.”
Applequist doesn’t buy it.
“In my opinion, Bach therapy probably has no value other than as a placebo,” she says. “But they are certainly not harmful. Most of the plants used in them are very bland and the intake is so low that a fraction of a drop of brandy per day is completely harmless to the baby. .”
Vaguely disappointed, I asked if there was at least a bit of folklore behind some of the combinations. For example, Elm. (I hadn’t confessed my current anxiety, but I was secretly hoping that there was something out there that would keep me from becoming overwhelmed with medication, wound care, oxygen tubes, and breathing treatments.) …)
“In traditional Celtic culture, the elm was associated with death, and at that time it was not considered something to deny or fear,” she says.
And what about mustard, which is said to encourage a return to joy? “I don’t know about the traditional use of mustard for depression, but its association with faith in the Christian tradition, a ‘mustard-seed-sized faith,’ probably represents humility. Probably because it is.”
Fully humbled, I head home to face a new and overwhelming challenge. Flowers fulfilled their role through completely different means.
