The Rescue Remedy by Bach is probably one of the most globally famous flower remedies on the market. And there’s a very good reason for that!
Read on to discover the properties, ’how it works’, and the secret ingredients that makes this eighty-year-old herbal combination so successful.
First Aid kits generally have all the necessaries to repair superficial wounds and other minor physical issues but one thing that is often overlooked when it comes to first aid is our emotional health. Stress and panic is extremely common when you have injured yourself. And there’s a little homeopathic blessing out there that comes in the form of Bach’s Rescue Remedy which can help soothe and bring immediate relief.
What is Rescue Remedy?
The Rescue Remedy is a blend of five flowers developed in the 1920s by Edward Bach, a British doctor who ventured into both holistic and modern medicine. His intense studies on the powerful properties and effects of plants on our mood, wellbeing and emotional health led him to concoct the combination that still prevails to this day. Each ingredient it contains claims to have a profound effect on different, specific feelings experienced during stressful situations:
Cherry Plum – For composure; for fear of irrationality, losing control, losing your mind.
Clematis – For clarity; for grounding, re-centring and balancing the emotions.
Impatiens – For patience; aptly named for combatting impatience, frustration and irritability.
Rock Rose – For bravery; for extreme fear, terror or nightmares.
Star of Bethlehem – For strength; for relief from trauma, loss, shock, grief, bereavement.
Can this simple combination of flowers really help us to gain control over all of these intense situations? It claims to be able to stabilise us enough to enable us to cope with what is happening during stressful encounters. The rescue remedy was created as support in an emotional emergency and the combination of the five different plants means that most bases are covered in one little bottle (or now also in pastels, gum, creams, etc).
Does it really work?
There are plenty of studies that suggest that, under duress, the participants who took the remedy showed a significantly better recovery rate than those given the placebo. Those suffering from chronic pain and women during menopause also found relief by taking the remedy. As with anything it depends on the person, so you’d have to try it yourself to see if it works for you. Some suggest that if you believe in it, then it works, which could then point to the power of suggestion as opposed to the remedy itself. Bach strongly believed that emotional and physical health are directly related and affect each other, hence his creations, a concept that has only recently become an accepted one within medicine.
How to take it
The Rescue Remedy now comes in various forms but the original and, in my opinion, best is a small bottle of drops. For quick relief from an emotional emergency you can administer four drops to the tongue, sub-lingually works most efficiently. If the stress is more long-term you can add the drops to a glass of water and sip it throughout the day. There are no reported side effects from the remedy and so it is advertised and considered as safe for children, breastfeeding or pregnant women, and even animals.
Consult your health practitioner if you have any questions regarding taking it.
Bottom line: we should all take steps to ensure we care for our emotional health as much as our physical health, and so, having a calming, stress reliever to hand for any emotional emergencies is just as important as having a band aid for a cut!
Online diploma courses in Holistic Therapies
Here at the School of Natural Health Sciences flowers and herbs play a major part in our curriculum – the following courses specifically focus on them:
- Flower Remedies: Heal Thyself is the very essence of the Flower Remedy philosophy – the holistic approach to health, disease and healing.
- Advanced Flower Remedies: This will expand your knowledge even further enabling you to practise as a Professional Therapist.
- Herbalism: Learn how to use herbs in infusions, decoctions, waters, syrups, tinctures, ointments, creams, liniment, poultices, pills and capsules. Also learn how to cultivate your own Herb Garden.
- Advanced Herbalism: An extremely informative home study course, with an encyclopaedic coverage of herbal preparations. Students will acquire an extensive understanding of herbs and their uses in therapy treatments fully preparing them for a role as a Professional Herbalist.
Interested in different holistic therapies? Visit our A-Z Course listing page – we have over 60 courses to choose from.
