Bach Rescue Remedy (Bach Flower Remedies)

Member Name: cerysm

Product:	Bach Flower Remedies
Date:	30/09/05 (6733 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Erm...easy to use.

Disadvantages: Doesn't work (for me) and tastes horrid!

Bach Rescue Remedy is a product that has been mentioned in many (health and women’s) magazines over the years. Article after article has told how great it is at calming nerves and helping people to cope with anxiety, and these articles often mention a celebrity fan that can’t live without it. Before I tried it, I’d always considered it to be some kind of miracle product, up there with the likes of Clarin’s Beauty Flash Balm and Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream, as I’d never heard a bad word said about it.

Dr Edward Bach created the range of 38 ‘Bach Flower Remedies’ in the 1920s and 30s. Each flower remedy (apart from ‘Rock Water’) is made using the flowers or blossoms of trees, bushes or wild plants. The flower remedies are not supposed to treat diseases or their symptoms, but instead, they are designed to focus on targeting negative feelings and emotions (such as stress, anxiety and depression), which may slow down physical healing or even lead to physical problems. The flower remedies are totally safe, can be used along with medication and other treatments, and have no side effects. All ages can use them, and they can even be given to pets. Each of the 38 remedies is designed to help a different emotional condition. Bach said that these could be split into seven groups, which represent the main difficulties that we have to deal with: Despondency or despair, Fear, Insufficient interest in present circumstances, Loneliness, Over-care for the welfare of others, Over-sensitivity to influences and ideas, and Uncertainty.

Bach Rescue Remedy is made of a combination of five of the flower remedies, and its purpose is to reduce anxiety and fear, reassure and comfort, and basically to help people cope with emotional demands. Therefore, it is designed to be used when people are scared or confused, before stressful events such as attending interviews or giving presentations, and at any other time when people feel like they need some emotional support.

The five flower remedies which make up Bach Rescue Remedy are:

* Impatiens * (Impatiens glandulifera):

This is the ideal remedy for people who are impatient and easily irritated. It has the potential to help people become less hasty, and more calm and relaxed.

* Star of Bethlehem * (Ornithogalum umbellatum):

This helps people to cope with the after-effects of shock (due to bereavement, bad news and accidents, etc.). It neutralises the effects of the shock, and comforts and soothes.

* Cherry Plum * (Prunus cerasifera):

This remedy is for those who fear that they might lose control of their behaviour (they feel that they might be violent, hysterical or about to have a breakdown). Cherry Plum has the potential to calm people, and help them to be rational.

* Rock Rose * (Helianthemum nummularium):

Rock Rose is the remedy which deals with terror. It can help people to have courage and be calm in emergencies and terrible situations.

* Clematis * (Clematis vitalba):

This remedy is to help those who have no interest in the present, and who live in their own dream world instead of the real world. It has the potential to help people enjoy and take an interest in the world.

These five flower remedies are diluted in a grape alcohol solution (brandy). Rescue Remedy is suitable for vegans and free from artificial additives.

Bach Rescue Remedy can be bought from most supermarkets and pharmacies, and comes in a bright yellow box (it is easy to spot on the shelves). There are a couple of versions that you can buy: A 20ml bottle with dropper, which costs around £5.99, and a 20ml spray bottle, which costs around £6.49 (it’s a little more because of the spray pump). I bought the spray bottle because I thought that it might be easier to use. The glass bottle is dark brown, and has a bright yellow lid and label with instructions on how to use it. The bottle itself is larger than I thought that it would be (about 10cm long and a couple of cm in diameter), and too large for me to carry around in my handbag each day.

I am a shy person, and I also suffer with anxiety, nervousness and stress. Last year, I was browsing the supermarket shelves, when I spotted Bach Rescue Remedy. I remembered all the great reviews, and as I was feeling very stressed at the time, I thought that I would give it a go (also, the box states that it will “comfort and reassure”, which sounded great). I have now used Rescue Remedy in a few situations, including before interviews and important phone calls, and also when I’m feeling generally stressed.

How to use Bach Rescue Remedy:
* With the original version (the bottle with a dropper), four drops should be dropped on the tongue (using the dropper), or dropped in water and sipped at intervals, when needed.
* With the spray bottle version, you apply two sprays to the tongue when needed (the bottle has a pump action, so you press the nozzle down to spray some out).
* Bach Rescue Remedy can also be diluted and applied to the skin as a lotion (you can also buy Bach Rescue Cream to moisturise skin with).

I have the spray version, and I have found that it is very easy to use. I normally use it at home (as I don’t want to carry it around in my handbag), but it is also very easy to apply on the go, as you just hold the bottle up to your mouth, and squirt two sprays onto your tongue.

I have to say that I hate the taste of the Rescue Remedy – it basically tastes of strong alcohol (because the flower remedies are diluted in an alcohol solution). I hate the taste of any alcohol anyway (and therefore rarely drink it), but even my fiancé (who loves alcohol) screwed up his face in disgust when he tried some out of curiosity. The taste only lasts for a couple of minutes though.

Right, to the important part: does it have any effect on my negative emotional states, and live up to its claims (and the hype)? Disappointingly, I would have to say no (in my case, anyway). I have noticed no difference in my emotional state whatsoever when I have used it in times of emotional demand, compared to how I normally feel in these situations (or how I felt in these situations before I started using it). Every time I use it, I think ‘this isn’t working, I still feel nervous and stressed’.

I believe that it does work for some people, but this may be because it acts as a psychological comforter. Also, it might not work for me because there may be more appropriate flower remedies for me in the range than the five contained in Rescue Remedy; it is said that inappropriate remedies will not have an effect. However, as the box makes it sound like it would be perfect for me, I’m not too sure about this, and I won’t bother trying out any other Bach Flower Remedies. I will carry on using it because I’ve paid for it (which makes no sense really!), but I definitely wouldn’t buy it again.

I would also like to add that in the past, just owning it has even made me feel worse than usual – the reason being that before a couple of interviews, I forgot to use it (both times I remembered I had forgotten to use it on the way to the interview). Even though I know that it doesn’t help my nerves or stress levels, I still felt a bit of panic and increased stress when I realised that I’d forgotten to use it (maybe because I knew that it was at home and out of my reach, and that it might have helped me - I’m very strange!).

Summary: I don't think it's as great as everyone makes out.