Healing Depression Series: Bach Flower Remedies (BFR) – Are they a placebo? part 5 or if I fooled myself, I did a great job.

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Are they a placebo? Part 5

As I have mentioned, I had suffered from depression for most of my life. While I had overcome most types, I had reached a point where Clinical Depression was slowly destroying me, and my life.

Every little thing, no matter how small, or imagined, would send me spiralling into a dark pit and those around me at the time, didn’t have much patience for that. (It suffices to say, those people are no longer in my life).

I kept on trying different remedies, but nothing worked. It wasn’t until, one day, during a particularly bad episode, that I, in desperation, took some Rescue Remedy, and noticed that I felt a slight relief. Not enough to make a difference, but enough to make me take notice.

I ran though the remedies that were part of it, over in my mind, and felt that the only one it could have been was Star of Bethlehem, the remedy for clearing shock and trauma.

As it was, that was one remedy that I had barely used. I just assumed that, because it was already part of the Rescue Remedy, I wouldn’t need it on its own.

So I took it, and after one dose, it felt like a heavy weight was lifted of my soul. The depression suddenly lifted, and I felt amazing.

I had to keep on taking the remedy every few minutes, because the depression would begin to return, but would always lift every time I took it.

Soon, the intervals changed from minutes, to hours, to a few times a day, and then about 5 days later, I didn’t need to take it anymore.

The point behind this story is that if they were a placebo, then any remedy would have worked, when I felt I was taking the right ones. As it was, they didn’t. I had misdiagnosed the cause, and I kept on doing so.

It wasn’t until I hit the right one that it suddenly shifted everything.

In actual fact, if I was susceptible to placebos, I would have saved myself a lot of money, because everything would work. For me, though, most things don’t.

Still, having said all this, the easiest way to prove that they work is with the Rescue Cream. This is a cream that has all five remedies of the Rescue Remedy in it, plus a sixth one, which is Crab Apple, which is the cleansing remedy.

From time to time, I burn myself, and putting the Rescue Cream will quickly stop the pain. My ex-partner once got a second degree oil burn while cooking. We put the cream on the burn. The pain had stopped a few minutes later, and the burn healed within a few days, leaving no marks or scaring.

My partner’s daughter also would use the cream when she got burnt. Once she missed a spot, and noticed that while the pain around it had stopped, the area that was untreated still burned. Once she applied the cream, it stopped.

Now, the base cream itself, without the remedies, was chosen because it’s allergy free and non-greasy.

So, it’s safe to suggest that the cream by itself does not have the power to heal burns.

The only things added to the cream are those six remedies. If they didn’t work, then nothing would happen when treating the burn. In fact, most doctors recommend against putting cream on a burn.

Simply put: If they were a placebo, it just wouldn’t heal or do anything.

Others have reported that it brings relief with sunburn. I stay out of the sun, so I can’t verify this.

I’ve also used it when my legs itch so badly that even hot water doesn’t help. (Hot water always stops itching for me).  I used the cream, and the itching stopped immediately.

I’ve also heard that the BFR’s works well for plants. I’ve not tried this, but if anyone does, let me know how that goes.

I’ve also had many reports that children, who have had accidents, especially traumatic ones, recover within minutes when the Rescue Remedy is administered.

In my opinion, the remedy and cream should be in the first aid kit of every house.

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7 Replies to “Healing Depression Series: Bach Flower Remedies (BFR) – Are they a placebo? part 5 or if I fooled myself, I did a great job.”

  1. I have been coming off a medication, chopping and changing things and the withdrawals have made me dream I was sick again and it was very scary. The biggest fear I have is of loosing control. I was getting head spins as well. I took some cherry plum in the morning, and put it in my drinking water sipping it frequently as I drove. I didn’t even realise but by the time I got to my destination my anxiety about coming unwell once more had vanished and the headspins from withdrawals were minimal.
    I have been taught to use the flowers in a combination formula and to take 4 drops 4 times a day. I think different ways of applying the formulas affect the efficacy of them. Ie- chronic vs acute phase. The way I used it with the cherry plum was thanks to your site and your help Gary! Nice blog! 🙂

  2. I had never before felt the immediate effects of the flowers and was always unsure if it was just placebo or not. It is starting to make sense now.

  3. You seem to have a good intuition about Bach Remedies. I choose Cerato, Larch, and Pine as someone who suffers from avoidant personality disorder, lack of self confidence, a crippling sense of pessimism and defeat before even starting anything, guilt, worry, depression, and anxiety. I have alienated every friend and close family members by my state of mind. Do you have any other suggestions?(Of course I seek validation with my Cerato mind.)

    1. Yes, I certainly do, though it’s a long list.

      Larch- self confidence

      Gentian – Lack of faith and discouraged by setbacks

      Pine – guilt ( you already use)

      Water Violet – when you tend to avoid others.

      Aspen – anxiety

      White Chestnut – quieten the mind for the worry

      Impatiens – for the frustration

      Holly – When getting angry with yourself.

      Now there are three remedies you should consider as the root cause here:

      Star of Bethlehem – it clears shock and trauma, and if you have undergone traumatic events, but not cleared them because you’ve set your needs aside for others, then you will experience what you are experiencing, that is clinical depression, and anything that happens, now matter how slight, will set you spinning back.

      Sweet Chestnut – Dark night of the soul, and this is needed to embrace a change in your belief system when your current one has become redundant.

      Mustard – If you feel drained and down for no apparent reason. If you hear thoughts whispering in your mind that you are not worthy, and you should give up and give in.

      Let me know if those resonate with you. You can also e-mail me if you wish. Details in the about section.

    1. Yes, it can be. The tricky part is identifying the cause. Once you have done that, healing it is a matter of choosing the right remedies. So far, success rate is extremely high.

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