Anyone here ever used herbs or flower essences?

CelestialHorse

A month ago about I went into a health food store (Def. will have to go to it again! Seems pretty cool!), anyway, they have a small area of herbs and flower essences. I talked to the lady thatworked there about depression and anxiety. I saw there were these Bach flower essences and I looked at the pamplet for them. It seems like sweet chestnut is the best in my case, I think it's really helping! As well as fish oil pils :) (For brain and mood health). I told my dad and he said go to the doc too. Meh, anti depressants make me nervous to be honest, I had taken a few that failed in the end but worked for a random amount of time. Celexa I am not sure how long I've been on prbably end of 2012...so far so good. Anyway, ever taken the flower essences or herbs? I know there's St Johns Wort I could take but I can't as I am taking something else.

I am very interested in herbs and stuff :)

Course I think some of it is just me but it's really nice how there are herbs and oils that can help you too :)
 

RViewer

Hi CelestialHorse :)

I have used flower essences and the one I find to be the most strikingly helpful is one known as Bach's Rescue Remedy. This stuff helps very well in all cases of trauma, stress, or anxiety. There are many instances I could share about this but one of the more striking ones is when a dog was hit on the highway near where I was living at the time. His back end was smashed and bleeding and he was in much pain. I gave him a couple of drops of Rescue Remedy in the corner of his mouth and within 2 minutes I could visibly see him relax and calm down. The effect lasted even when he was at the vet and in fact the vet mentioned that he had never worked on an animal that was more at ease as he stitched up their wounds.

After telling him about giving the dog Rescue Remedy he seemed surprised but being the caring and excellent vet that he was he decided to try it in his practice. He used it regularly from that point on based on the results he observed. Might be worth a try.
 

CelestialHorse

Thanks! Ill have to trythose! I love the sweet chestnut! I need to buy more! Heh i think it works lot better than fish oil pills which idont think is helping.
 

RViewer

Natural Remedies

Rescue Remedy is a blend of essences but comes in a single bottle. You will know right away if it works for you if you take some the next time you feel stressed or anxious. There are differences in quality of the types of fish oil that are sold. I have found Arctic Krill Oil to be the most superior and it seems to help with nerves, asthma, allergies and overall nutritional health. There are places to order your supplements online that are far less expensive (as much as 70% less than in store) but I believe I am not allowed to post them for you here. If you (or anyone) are interested let me know and I will send you a message.

If you are ever interested in trying some of the homeopathic herbs you may want to purchase some Arnica and some Hypericum to have on hand. Arnica is excellent for any type of soft tissue damage or muscle strain. For instance you could work out to the extent that would typically cause you to be sore the next day and if you take just a couple of doses of Arnica before bed you can often wake up with absolutely no pain what so ever. It also works this way for any type of back strain, bruising, etc. Hypericum works very well for nerve damage. For instance if you cut or burn yourself and alternate taking doses Arnica and then Hypericum you will likely be impressed with the pain relief and superior healing that results. Being a home builder I have had more than one occasion to put these to the test :)
 

JoyousGirl

Hello Horsey

I've used rescue remedy and had a few blends made up myself. They can do absolute wonders - find out more about which drops do what and see about getting yourself a blend made up. I'm in Australia, and the place I used to go to had a lot of Australian flowers/plants, so different places may have different options to choose from. St Johns Wort is the same as Hypericum I think - just different names. But as you mentioned, there are contra-indications with many prescribed and other medications. Keep with the fish oil, it's good for the brain and skin and heaps of other stuff, and make sure you're getting enough B vitamins, especially B12 - which is only in animal products (just in case you're not a meat eater). Heaps of vegetables are good, too - eat vegetable matter for your "grey matter". As for the herbs - read up as much as you can- something will really pop out at you.
 

CelestialHorse

Yeah Fish Oil didn't seem to help. I do take B12. I take the GNC Womens Active vitamins :) (course I can't take directly with Strontium or the bone making stuff will not intereact with the calcium and Vit D in the multivitamins). I have to wait I think, dr Oz said 4 hours lol. I do notice that the Rescue Remedy help! I can't wait to try out more stuff :) Hm mixing some together sounds good :D I think I remember an Australian website that had flower essences on it and stuff. I can't remember what it was called tho :/
 

Glass Owl

Me and my family use Feel Bach flower remedies and we find them greatly helpful and affordable. The feel5ive is great to have on hand for emergencies that come up and I love being able to make custom, unique blends for each person based on their needs. Doing some research on what the flowers are good for is useful for this. I now give my daughter her tincture before she needs to take a test and I have my own for those times that I am stressed out or anxious. The results with the flowers seems to take hold right away too. I especially like to use them along with wearing rose quartz.
 

Moonshiner

I used Bach's Rescue Remedy and to be honest it didn't help me. I deal with depression and anxiety so I know the frustration behind it. I say do your research on natural remedies. Meditation is great for helping you stay mindful, exercise can help boost endorphins, you can get one of those light therapy lamps for seasonal depression, keeping a gratitude journal can help you stay positive, and doing CBT can help change the way you think.

After finishing a bottle of Bach's Rescue Remedy I did some research and found out that it's basically 50/50 water and brandy. The flower ingredients are so small that it's practically not even in the solution. With that being said if you have clinical depression and anxiety I don't recommend it as these are serious conditions and require medical attention. Homeopathy can work if you are one who resonates with it but keep in mind that you shouldn't replace actual treatment with it for serious conditions. There is no scientific proof to support it but if it's something you find helpful do it alongside medical treatment not as a replacement.

I hated pharmaceuticals as well but I've ended up being hospitalized three times for not being mindful about medication and treatment. A lot of these drugs have been derived and created from natural sources. They can be a direct chemical found in a specific plant like St. John's Wort. But! just because something is natural doesn't mean it's better or necessarily good for you. There can be side effects regardless and can even cause death.

I don't know if this will be helpful to you or not but there's this band called Swans' and their drummer deals with Major Depression. He recently did a video where he talks about it and how he deals with it:

THE INSIDE STORY : Major Depression
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGewlMBtDeQ

I enjoy herbs as well and I'm guessing you're going seek out alternative medicine regardless so I'll provide some things that helped me or some things I have yet to try.
*talk to your doctor before trying any of these as it could interact with medication or might put you in danger*

- Passion Flower - Can be used as a mild-sedative
- Chamomile - Also a very mild-sedative, great for sleep and relaxation
- Lavender - Great for aromatherapy, eases anxiety, may help with uplifting mood, can help with sleep

erowid.org is a great site for looking up medication, herbs, etc but please do be careful.
 

Moonshiner

I would like to say that beyond the propaganda behind that documentary posted above take mental illness or any illness seriously and follow advice from your GP with common sense. Misdiagnosis happens along with other things but I promise you pharmaceuticals aren't as bad as they're painted to be. Communicate with your doctors about side effects if you have any, express your concerns and be as open and honest as possible. Don't let stigma keep you away from proper treatment that has been studied and proven to help.

I'm on cipralex right now for my depression and anxiety and I feel great. I've gone through a list of pills and it was a journey finding one that was right for me but here I am telling you that medication is not something to take lightly if you need it.