Flower Remedies: for Anguish, Discouragement and Despair

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Here we’ll see eight different flower remedies to deal with the different faces of anguish and despair: for when we feel ashamed, when we demand too much of ourselves, for a bitter and resentful life, for when we feel severe pain, for when we have hit rock bottom, for when we are overwhelmed by responsibilities, for guilt feelings, and the feeling we can’t do it.

Table of Contents

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CRAB APPLE: For When We Feel Full Of Stains And Shame

The Crab Apple type is obsessed with dirt. They demand that the body, the soul, and the whole world be spotless. A small flaw becomes a big problem for them; an error, even if insignificant, is experienced as a pain that can turn into a torment. They often feel disgusted and for this reason, at times, they develop obsessive behaviours: they wash their hands constantly, they are distressed by the presence of boils and blackheads, and they cannot find peace if their shirts are not folded to perfection. They are haunted by the thought that others may discover the dark sides of them, their hidden thoughts within.

Dirt, insects, and bacteria cause them physical suffering, even if the root of their discomfort is much deeper.

How the Remedy Works

Crab Apple helps us to realise that the desire for perfection is a way to avoid confronting our own reality. The remedy makes it possible to distinguish what is important from what is not.

The fruits of the wild apple tree are sour and bitter: they facilitate digestion and detoxification. Likewise, Crab Apple flushes the mind from obsessive thoughts. It is also used externally as a disinfectant.

OAK:  For When We Demand Too Much Of Ourselves

Oak types have enviable qualities and generally possess extraordinary strength and endurance. When everyone is adrift, the Oak types take matters into their own hands.

They do not spare time or effort, nor do they let themselves down by illness or moments of despair. The important thing is to achieve the goal.

Others usually admire them, but do not like them: they rarely joke and often do not understand the weaknesses of their neighbours, for whom they can hardly feel feelings of closeness. Under the hard shell, they feel alone.

Like the oak from which it takes its name, the Oak type does not bend in the wind. But, like oak, it has a weakness. In the face of a violent lash, other plants bend, adapt and eventually manage to survive, while the oak lacks this ability and, as a result, breaks apart. The same thing happens to Oak. It is them who always take responsibility, the cornerstone who knows how to face any situation: they cannot give in, nor show signs of giving up. They must resist at all costs, they cannot show themselves weak, get sick, or rest. But, in the end, they risk crashing.

How the Remedy Works

Oak teaches us not to exceed what is required of ourselves, to develop certain flexibility, to allow ourselves a rest break from time to time, and some distraction to recover physical and intellectual strength. In this way, we can release hidden energies, which allow us to become passionate and dedicate ourselves to a purpose, without feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities.

WILLOW: For When We Live With Bitterness And Resentment

The Willow types carry a big worry within. Convinced that they have suffered an enormous and undeserved injustice, they feel themselves the victim of a cruel fate and continually struggle, thinking about what their life could have been like “if it hadn’t happened that …”.

In some cases, Willow manifests their victimhood even in small daily chores: “I’m late because there was a power outage on the subway.” When in fact, they woke up late. “I was sacked because the director couldn’t stand me from day one”. When in fact, they had been chatting on the phone with a friend for half an hour.

Willow has the impression that the whole world works against them and never takes responsibility: they constantly recriminate, mulling over a past that should now belong to the past.

They poison their life without ever being able to explode to free themselves definitively from the sediments of their continuous rancour.

How the Remedy Works

Willow teaches us to take responsibility for our lives, and to understand that what happens also depends on our attitude, and on the interpretation we give to the events.

The remedy helps to overcome the accumulated resentment, to recognize the positive aspects in every situation and, by focusing on these, to be more optimistic and confident.

STAR OF BETHLEHEM: For a Great Physical or Emotional Pain

Star of Bethlehem is one of the remedies to always keep on hand. It is used for all physical or psychological trauma: accidents, injuries, bad news, and events that leave us in a daze. It is as if the mind refuses to accept what it is experiencing and turns off the switch. One remains partially or totally paralyzed, and one loses speech and, often, even hearing. Stunned, we acknowledge that the security of our little universe has suddenly been destroyed.

How the Remedy Works

Star of Bethlehem dissolves the emotional block caused by the trauma and helps us to be aware of our emotions again. Bach defines it as “the remedy that soothes and comforts pain and suffering”.

It allows us to regain lost balance and be free from the numbness caused by suffering. It also helps in the healing of psychosomatic diseases, because it removes the psychological block that caused them.

Star of Bethlehem is also often prescribed in cases where therapy with other Bach flowers does not produce results.

SWEET CHESTNUT: For When We Feel We Have Hit Rock Bottom

When we feel desperate, anguished as if a hurricane had overwhelmed us, leaving us in the most inconsolable desolation. The ability to find comfort in the memory of happy days, or look to the future with confidence, has disappeared. We are faced only with the present: impossible, intolerable, unacceptable.

This is the time to turn to Sweet Chestnut. In general, these are transitory situations, due to particular moments, which open the way to a long-postponed awareness: an unhappy marriage, an unsatisfactory job, or a situation of intolerable loneliness.

The Sweet Chestnut remedy is useful for all those who are about to embark on a period of spiritual growth. Seized by deep anguish, they ask themselves what the meaning of their choices is, they have a clear perception of their own powerlessness, and they contemplate with terror the emptiness of their existence.

How the Remedy Works

However profound the suffering may be, Sweet Chestnut has the ability to bring about improvement. Let’s try to imagine a butterfly closed in its cocoon: it does not see a way out, yet it is close to being able to go out into the sunlight.

Sweet Chestnut tears apart illusions and habits that hold prisoners, leading to the discovery of the spaces of freedom of a new life.

ELM: Overwhelmed With Responsibilities

The Elm type is smart, knows how to take responsibility and often considers work a vocation. Enthusiastic, they work hard to help others and face every obstacle with determination. They tend to be loaded with commitments, until one day they accumulate and they are no longer able to manage them: a financial problem, the sudden onset of an illness, a strong tension in the office, the computer that has melted… everything happens at the same time.

Elm feels overwhelmed, destroyed, and knocked out; they go into crisis. Used to esteem themselves for what they do and not for what they are, they feel humiliated and guilty for no longer being able to react and give the best of themselves.

How the Remedy Works

Elm helps us not to lose confidence in ourselves, even if at the moment we feel unable to carry on with our commitments, it teaches us to accept our limits, find a space for rest, for distractions and recover strength. These are usually transitory difficulties. It is in fact a remedy that is prescribed to women who have a heavy load of responsibility and risk collapsing: they work, take care of the house and children, and take care of their parents.

PINE: For a Constant Feeling of Guilt

The Pine type likes to apologise not only for the inconvenience they may cause but also for the inconvenience others are responsible for.

They constantly feel at fault and mull over mistakes made years ago: a better job had to be presented, the children’s birthday party could have been organised with more care, and the meal had to be lighter.

They often set themselves impossible goals and, when the effort to achieve them leads them to fall ill, they blame themselves for not being able to carry out the commitments. The feeling of guilt, always present in their thoughts, depresses them and prevents them from enjoying life.

How the Remedy Works

Pine prevents us from feeling overwhelmed with guilt. Little by little, it turns out that the energy spent on unnecessarily tormenting ourselves can instead be used positively to learn to love and accept ourselves for what we are, with our own limitations and defects.

LARCH: For The Feeling Of Not Making It

The Larch types have the knowledge, within themselves, that they have already lost from the start. They have so little confidence in themselves that they don’t even try to commit to anything, certain of not being able to succeed.

Convinced that they are incapable, they always think that others are better than them. And if they are pushed to try, they already know that they will not make it and face a new experience with a renouncing attitude. They unconsciously prepare themselves for failure, as if they wanted to prove that it is true that they are useless and protect themselves from the disappointment of yet another failure: they are not good at anything.

The roots of their attitude often go back to a childhood of prohibitions and warnings, which did not allow them to verify their abilities and test themselves with a serene state of mind.

How the Remedy Works

Larch breaks the circle of mistrust-failure-sense of inadequacy. The remedy gives us the strength to take the initiative, preventing us from being blocked by the fear of defeat.

It is recommended to everyone before an exam or a job interview, to feel stronger and more confident. It has also proven effective in some cases of sexual impotence.

Check Out These Other Flower Remedies:

• Scleranthus / Cerato / Wild Oat / Hornbeam / Gentian / Gorse
• Water Violet / Impatiens / Heather
• Holly / Walnut / Centaury / Agrimony
• Mimulus / Aspen / Red Chestnut / Rock Rose / Cherry Plum
• Beech / Vine / Vervain / Rock Water / Chicory
• Clematis / Honeysuckle / Wild Rose / Olive / White Chestnut / Mustard / Chestnut Bud

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