Beautiful Vibrations: Living through medical illness with Bach flower remedies

By Jennifer Barraclough

Anxiety, sadness, anger and loss of hope are common responses to serious or chronic illness. Symptoms of the condition itself, side-effects of treatment, concerns about diagnosis and prognosis, restriction of activity, and changes in relationships take their toll on both body and mind. Ideally, negative feelings will soon be replaced by a more positive adjustment, but sometimes they are severe or prolonged. Bach flowers are not a cure for physical disease but help to relieve the emotional distress often associated with it. Dr Edward Bach described them as having "beautiful vibrations" capable of promoting positive mental states such as hope, courage and calm. This practical guide, illustrated by case histories and flower photos, explains how to select and use the remedies as part of a holistic approach to healing. Despite all its unpleasant aspects, the experience of illness can have a silver lining and the flower remedies help to bring this out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Overcliff Books
• Release date: Jun 6, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224692651

Jennifer Barraclough

Jennifer Barraclough was born and brought up in England, and practised as a medical doctor there for many years before moving to New Zealand with her husband. She has published both fiction and non-fiction books. Besides writing, her interests include animal welfare, choral singing and holistic health care. 

Book preview

Table of Contents

Beautiful Vibrations: Living through medical illness with Bach flower remedies

PART 1: THE BACKGROUND

PART 2: TRANSFORMING NEGATIVES TO POSITIVES

PART 3: THE REMEDIES AND HOW TO USE THEM

About the Author

BEAUTIFUL VIBRATIONS

Living through medical illness with Bach flower remedies

––––––––

Jennifer Barraclough

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www.overcliffbooks.com

Copyright @ Jennifer Barraclough 2024

Originally published in 2020, this version updated with minor changes

Also by Jennifer Barraclough

NOVELS

You Yet Shall Die: a psychological mystery about family secrets and a long-ago crime

Three Novellas: Carmen’s Roses, Blue Moon for Bombers, The Windflower Vibration

Overdose

Fatal Feverfew

Unfaithful unto Death

NON-FICTION

Migraine and Me: A doctor’s experience of understanding and coping with migraine (coming in 2024)

Wellbeing for Writers

Persons not Diseases

Focus on Healing

Enhancing Cancer Care

Cancer and Emotion

Across a Sea of Troubles

Geoffrey Guy’s War (edited, with David Guy)

Hughes Outline of Modern Psychiatry (later editions by David Gill)

Disclaimer

The general guidelines presented in this book are not intended to replace diagnosis and treatment from a healthcare professional, and the author cannot accept responsibility for their results when applied to the individual case.

Flower photos reproduced courtesy of the Bach Centre http://www.bachcentre.com

PART 1: THE BACKGROUND

Dr Edward Bach wrote that his flower remedies act by flooding our bodies with the beautiful vibrations of our higher nature. If you or someone you love is experiencing distress related to a medical illness, I hope this short book will show how the remedies can help.

The purpose of the remedies is to transform negative states of mind into positive ones, for example the Mimulus flower promotes courage to overcome fear.

Mimulus

It is important to make clear from the start that the remedies are not a treatment or cure for any disease. All the same, their mental benefits are often accompanied by physical ones. The calming of anxiety can lead to relaxation of muscle tension and so to lessening of pain. The lifting of depression can, at least in theory, improve regulation of the endocrine and immune systems and so support the body’s powers of recovery.

Psychological responses to having a serious illness vary widely. Some patients passively accept it as their fate. Some confront it as a challenge to be fought and overcome. Others become overwhelmed by anxiety, fear, worry, sadness, depression, loss of hope, anger, guilt, self-pity, relationship problems, brooding over spiritual and existential questions ... the list could go on. Family members can be affected as much as patients themselves.

Distress is natural and understandable. Ideally, it will be acknowledged and expressed, then gradually replaced by a more positive adjustment. Hard to believe though it may seem to begin with, an illness experience often turns out to have some genuine silver linings in the longer term: a deeper understanding of what is important to you, appreciation of the present day, closer personal relationships, enhanced creativity, a desire to support other patients, living true to your own beliefs and desires rather than conforming to others’ expectations, developing a spiritual faith.

I am not suggesting that everyone with a medical condition needs to take Bach flower remedies, but when negative responses are unduly severe or prolonged, these remedies are among the many professional therapies and self-help techniques that can help.

To repeat, Bach flowers are not a treatment or cure for any disease. They are a complementary therapy to be used alongside any medical or surgical interventions that may be needed – not as an alternative. 

The book is in three parts. Part 1 starts with an account of how I began working with the flower remedies myself, then continues with some general information about them, and a discussion of their place in the context of mind-body medicine and the holistic approach to healing. Part 2 gives guidance about choosing remedies for the various psychological issues that may arise in association with a medical illness, not only overcoming the negative aspects but also cultivating the positive ones, and touches on some metaphysical aspects. Part 3 contains a list of the 38 individual remedies, and practical details about how to use them. Some of the content has been adapted from my earlier books Focus on Healing and Persons not Diseases.

My career path

This brief summary of my professional background explains how I discovered the flower remedies, and outlines my approach to using them alongside orthodox medicine to support people coping with physical illness.

I qualified as a doctor in England and spent thirty years practicing conventional medicine, with experience of the different fields of radiotherapy, general practice and general psychiatry. This apparently fragmented career path proved an ideal preparation for my eventual appointment as a consultant in psychological medicine working in general hospitals in clinical and research posts, mainly in cancer treatment settings (psycho-oncology). Most of the patients referred to me were suffering from anxiety or depression or both. Some had great difficulty in adjusting to their illness, due for instance to sustained anger or depressed mood. Listening to their stories and following up with some brief psychotherapy, often combined with antidepressant medication, usually seemed to help and I found the work very rewarding.

Neither my undergraduate nor postgraduate education had included anything about the so-called complementary therapies, and like many doctors I tended to be dismissive of