When we feel settled and positive, we tend to cope better — and life’s twists and turns are easier to meet. The connection between emotional state and overall wellbeing is now widely recognised, and the Bach flower essences (also known as Bach flower remedies) work at precisely this level: a system of 38 essences, each aimed at a particular emotional state, selected individually to support balance, resilience and a more positive outlook.

Because the selection of essences depends entirely on your individual emotional picture, prescribing is best done by an experienced practitioner. At The Centre of Health, Bach flower essences have been part of clinical practice for more than three decades — available anywhere in Australia through telehealth consultation, with your personalised blend dispensed and delivered to your door.

In more detail

The summary above covers the essentials. Below, we look at the story behind the essences, the emotional territories the 38 essences address, and how your personal blend is selected.

The story of Dr Edward Bach

The flower essences were the life’s work of Dr Edward Bach, a respected Harley Street physician in London. After many years of conventional medical practice, Bach came to a conclusion that was ahead of its time: a person’s personality and emotional state have a major bearing on their health.

By 1930 he was so convinced of the direction his work was taking that he gave up his lucrative Harley Street practice altogether and left London — determined to devote the rest of his life to a new system of medicine he was sure could be found in nature. He took with him one assistant, a radiographer named Nora Weeks, and over years of patient trial and error, preparing and testing thousands of plants, he identified his remedies one by one. Each was aimed at a particular mental state or emotion, and his observation was that when the personality and feelings of his patients were attended to, their distress would ease and the body’s own healing capacity was better able to do its work.

The complete system he left behind comprises 38 flower essences, which naturopaths experienced in this modality continue to use today.

What the 38 essences address

Bach organised his 38 essences around seven broad territories of emotional experience. The individual essence — or combination of essences — is chosen according to which of these states are present, and how they express themselves in you specifically:

Essences may be given individually or in combination — up to about four different essences is generally ideal — to address more than one emotional state at once. They can be used for long-standing emotional patterns as well as acute situations where a quick settling response is wanted, such as anticipation before a difficult appointment or the aftermath of upsetting news. The most widely known example is the traditional five-flower crisis combination that Bach himself devised for moments of shock and acute stress.

How your essences are selected

While the essences themselves are exceptionally gentle, choosing well is not simple — two people under the same pressure may need entirely different essences, because what matters is not the situation but how you respond to it. This is why individualised prescribing by an experienced naturopath gives the best results.

Gentle by nature

Because flower essences are so highly diluted, they are among the gentlest preparations in natural medicine, generally very well tolerated across all ages and life stages — and typically able to be used alongside other treatments once your circumstances have been assessed in consultation. The traditional preparations are preserved in a small amount of alcohol, which is one of the practical details discussed where relevant, for example when prescribing for children or during pregnancy.

It is worth being straightforward about the evidence: flower essences sit within the traditional rather than the strongly research-supported end of natural medicine, and their action is subtle rather than dramatic. Many people find them a genuinely helpful support for emotional balance — and they are always used as a complement to, never a replacement for, appropriate medical or psychological care. If you are experiencing significant anxiety, low mood or emotional distress, please also speak with your GP; support from a psychologist or counsellor can work well alongside naturopathic care.

Frequently Asked Questions

References & Evidence Base

• The original system: Dr Edward Bach, The Twelve Healers & Other Remedies, 1936
• History and the 38 remedies: The Bach Centre, Oxfordshire, England (bachcentre.com)
• Evidence review: Ernst, Swiss Medical Weekly, 2010 — systematic review of randomised clinical trials of flower remedies
• Overview of flower remedies as a complementary therapy: Cancer Council NSW, Complementary Therapies information series
• Regulation of complementary medicines in Australia: Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Therapeutic Goods Act 1989