THE PATIENT HIMSELF TELLS HIS REMEDY

Suppose there is a medical system where the patient himself tells the remedy to be prescribed for him and which would cure him completely, permanently and in the shortest possible time, that too without side-effects, diet restrictions and contra-indications. Dr. Bach Flower Remedies answer such a need. Nature constantly works towards perfection and God loves us so much. If this be true, then Nature must also have provided a system through which man can be cured almost instantaneously. Man is only a part of Nature and cannot invent anything superior to it. These thoughts, according to the author, led Dr. Edward Bach to the discovery of the thirty-eight remedies. To explain this principle, the author gives five examples of patients, all suffering from abdominal pain.One patient says, “The pain is so unbearable,” and weeps or cries out with pain. Another says, “Even my enemy should not suffer like this.” A third says, “Perhaps I am suffering because of sins committed in this or a previous birth.” A fourth blames the doctors, saying that they have taken money but failed to cure him. A fifth says that he feels as though he should grasp the painful part and keep it aside.Although all five patients have the same complaint, namely abdominal pain, their reactions are entirely different. Most doctors would ignore these statements because they appear unrelated to the disease. Dr. Bach, however, observed that these expressions themselves indicate the remedy needed by the patient.The expression “unbearable pain,” accompanied by crying, screaming, gnashing of teeth or tears, points to Cherry Plum. The statement “even my enemy should not suffer like this” points to Sweet Chestnut. The feeling that one is suffering because of sins committed points to Pine. Blaming doctors, fate or others for one’s suffering points to Willow. The desire to remove the painful part from the body points to Crab Apple.Here remedies are not prescribed according to the name of the disease but according to the way the patient reacts to his illness.Remedy selection is based on:The words spoken by the patient regarding his suffering.His behaviour, actions and gestures.Reports given by relatives, attendants, nurses or parents regarding the way he has behaved since becoming ill.There is no need for separate remedies for pain, fever, liver disease or other pathological conditions. Such systems already exist. Dr. Bach discovered that when a remedy is selected according to the patient’s behaviour and expression, cure becomes gentle, quick, permanent and free from side-effects. From time immemorial, patients have been indicating their remedies through their own words. According to the author, Dr. Bach was the first person to recognise this fact. Almost every patient belongs to one of the 38 Bach remedy types and that, at a given moment, the patient’s expressions usually point to one remedy only.In Bach therapy, diseases are not classified into hundreds of names. Instead, humanity is classified into 38 remedy types. Therefore, the practitioner should forget the names of diseases and learn the 38 remedy pictures. Once the remedy type is recognised, the appropriate remedy is given and the patient can be cured, regardless of the disease name.“We treat the patient and not the disease.”According to him, Bach Remedies are not merely medicines for disease. Their real sphere of action is the correction of life itself. They help reduce stress, solve problems, improve relationships, remove emotional disturbances and help a person discover the purpose of his existence. Disease treatment is only a secondary benefit. Another important principle is that the patient himself tells us the remedy. One only has to listen carefully. Mental symptoms do not mean psychiatric illness. Even patients who come with purely physical complaints often reveal the required remedy through their fears, worries, attitudes and expressions. For example, a woman came with swelling in her forearm. After speaking for some time she finally said, “I am afraid it may be cancer.” The important symptom was not the swelling but the fear of a known thing. According to the author, this pointed to Mimulus, and that remedy cured her.Another patient complained of low blood pressure. Further questioning revealed that he repeatedly woke at night with a vague, causeless fear. Since the fear had no definite object, the author prescribed Aspen, which is the remedy for vague and unknown fears.Thus, the foundation of the Bach system, if the physician remains quiet and allows the patient to speak freely, the patient himself will reveal the remedy through his own words, behaviour and reactions