Bach Original Flower Remedies

Mind over matter

Sweaty palms, a raised heartbeat, butterflies in your stomach, shortness of breath, raised hair on your back –these are just some of the few symptoms we experience when faced with fear of the present situation. It is estimated that 13 per cent of the adult population will have developed a phobia during their lifetime. And while many can get on with life and avoid dogs/heights/small spaces/spiders, there are many more whose lives are ruined by irrational fears.

Phobias
A phobia is defined as an excessive or unreasonable fear of an object, place or situation – degree of fear making the difference between fear and phobia. In a real-life situation it would be normal to feel fear if you were being attacked for example, but with a phobia the level of fear you feel is inappropriate due to an unrealistic or exaggerated response to a normal situation. For instance, if you suffered from aviophobia, the fear of flying, you would refuse to board a plane, while if you were just frightened but not phobic you could still bring yourself to board the plane if absolutely necessary.

Phobias can range from the simple, such as being scared of insects, through to the more complex, such as ergophobia, where sufferers have a phobia for work, thus leaving them isolated and probably penniless. How many of you have heard of paruresis? It is an intense fear of using public toilets. Certain phobias are irrational, like clouraphobia, the fear of clowns, and agoraphobia, where sufferers are fearful of being in places where they feel trapped and don’t like crowds – also a social phobia that leaves sufferers isolated.

Phobias are more common than you might think – they can start as a result of a traumatic event, passed on in childhood from parent to child, when it becomes as a learned response, or for no obvious reasons at all. Hydrophobia, the fear of water, usually occurs when one has had a bad encounter with water, such as a near-drowning experience. But the fact is that phobias can be debilitating and stressful – whether it’s the fear of enclosed spaces or of sandwiches! According to experts we are all born with two phobias: fear of loud noises and the fear of falling. These are reasonable fears for a newborn but while most of us will grow out of them, others don’t, and it goes on to create even more irrational anxieties.

Mind over matter
To overcome your phobias you need to change your thinking. But of course living with a phobia can be hard work, especially if it is the fear of something seemingly harmless such as a balloon, jelly or carrots. Reversing a phobia takes some time and effort on your part, but it really is possible to trick the brain. You need to remember that you are more than your fear, recognise that your fear is something you have created and replace that phobic response in your head with something more positive. And the more you practice doing this the more your brain will use the positive response. Easier said that done, hey? Thanks to Dr Edward Bach help is at hand.

Bach to the rescue
To help reduce anxiety over certain situations, the Bach™ Original Flower Remedies each focus on a specific emotion. The remedy Mimulus helps us with the anxiety associated with known fears and phobias such as heights. The remedies work on a subtle emotional level, and they are not an instant fix, therefore you won’t wake up thinking ‘I’m cured’! However, you will feel calmer and more confident in a situation which usually would induce fear and panic. Bach Rescue™ Remedy is a unique combination of Bach™ Original Flower Remedies and is specially blended to help you cope with stressful situations – it’s world famous for quickly restoring inner calm and managing daily stresses. The Rescue™ range includes a dropper bottle, a spray, a cream, the brand new chewable pastilles, and the night-time version to help those who struggle to switch of at night.