For centuries, folk healers used flowers and plants as therapy for different ailments. Many modern medications, such as digitalis used by heart patients, come from plants. In the early 1930s, Dr. Edward Bach, a bacteriologist and homeopathic physician, became disillusioned with the limitations of modern medicine at that time. He turned to answers in nature to meet the needs of mankind and developed a system of treatment using the essences of flowers for healing.

Bach believed that disease had roots in the mental and emotional condition of the individual. According to Bach, our brains are powerhouses of energy and nerves conduct electrical energy. A magnetic field called an aura is around the body and certain energies interact. Learning to improve attitude and outlook and eliminating negative emotions like anger, fear, and sorrow lead to positive energy and good health. His search for medications that could heal the soul and create positive energy led him to flowers, plants, and shrubs. Using himself as the model, he placed flower petals or leaves under his tongue and observed changes in mood the flowers produced. Through a process of trial and error, he found 38 remedies prepared from wild flowers, which he believed balanced energy in the body.

He created the 38 flower essences by placing flowers in spring water in the sun so that the sun energy would fill the solution. To present the flower essences, he used a small amount of brandy. Today the essences are preserved in ethyl alcohol, although the remedies are available in vinegar. The essences are placed under the tongue or applied to the skin.

Bach identified useful flower remedies for children showing symptoms of ADHD as follows:

- Aspen for the person whose fears and worries are of unknown origin; calms nervous and anxious symptoms

- Cherry plum for the child who is losing it, and who is about to throw things or scream

- Chestnut bud for those who fail to learn by experience and repeatedly make the same mistakes

- Chicory for those who are overprotective, possessive, and selfish

- Crab apple for poor self-image, feelings of shame, sense of uncleanliness

- Heather for those who are egocentric and think the world revolves around them

- Holly for a child who is jealous, envious, suspicious, or revengeful

- Impatiens for a baby who screams for attention; this treatment may abort an early stage of development of ADHD

- Vervain for those who are high strung, tense, frustrated or hyperactive; this remedy is the most frequently given for ADHD

- Willow for a child who is resentful or bitter

Rescue is a composite of five or remedies for the hyperactive child. Bach remedies do not change the person but help them acquire equilibrium to allow the positive aspects of character to emerge.

Bibliography:

Cooper, Paul, and Katherine Bilton. 1999. ADHD: Research, practice and opinion. London: Whurr Publishers.

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