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For over 10 years I've been utilizing Bach Flower Remedies (BFRs) to help my furry patients deal with emotional upset and distress. I first heard about the BFRs in the late ‘80s when I attended a lecture given by an animal communicator, Carol Gurney. After hearing her lecture I asked Carol to do readings for my many critters. After she did the readings Carol told me (very accurately) what was upsetting some of my animals and then recommended some BFRs to help them.
Being of a scientific turn of mind, I decided to try some on myself before using them on my animals. I started with Rescue Remedy, the best-known BFR. At first, I didn’t perceive much difference. However, as I did more reading, I realized that the effects would be subtle compared to drugs. With this in mind, I came to see that, instead of making me feel “buzzed” or euphoric, the Rescue helped me to become more internally balanced, to be more me. It was like the steadying effect of a deep breath; I felt more able to cope with what was going on around and in me.
On this happy note I decided to give my animals the BFRs that Carol Gurney recommended. I was so pleased with the results in them and myself that the next natural step was to use them to help my patients.
As is clear to anyone who knows and loves animals, they have a full range of emotions: they can be happy, joyful, excited, angry, anxious, confused, jealous, fearful, etc., etc. Some animals show these emotions in an obvious way; others hide their feelings. If an animal’s emotional state is imbalanced in a pronounced way or for a long period, physical ailments and disease can result, just as happens with us “two-leggeds”.
Some of the patients I’ve treated with the BFRs have just had emotional upsets; others have had physical diseases/symptoms which I felt had an emotional component or cause. From the first category, the BFRs have been helpful in easing animals through changes such as moves and the introduction of new animals or humans into their households. They also have helped houses oiling cats, cats who weren’t getting along with other cats, animals who were withdrawn, dogs with separation anxiety, and animals severely affected by a traumatic event (I definitely feel that animals can suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome). It also helps animals to deal with the anxiety a visit to the veterinarian brings!
Regarding the second category of emotions and physical disease, over the years, before I even had heard of the BFRs, I had come to believe that emotions directly cause or are a contributing factor to many, if not all, the illnesses that affect our furry friends. Four organ systems seem to be especially susceptible to emotional upsets: these are the skin (itching, rashes, red, oozing skin), the lungs (asthma), the bladder (cystitis) and the bowel (colitis). However, I believe that emotional upsets and stress have much wider effects than just these four systems. Among other things, I’ve had patients whose seizures were triggered by stress, and I feel that stress plays a part in immune disorders such as autoimmune disease and cancer. (Researchers like Candice Pert are taking the first steps in discovering how this comes about.)
In each case where I prescribe BFRs I take a careful history. If possible, I also like to see the animal in person (even better, in his/her own home environment) and do a complete physical. This helps me to be as accurate as possible when prescribing a formula of BFRs. The more accurate I can be, the more likely the formula will bring success. The wrong remedy won’t harm a patient, but it also won’t solve the problem.
I have found that the more acute the upset, the more quickly the BFR formula seems to work. Among the first patients I prescribed the BFRs for was a pair of kitty brothers brought in to board in a clinic in which I was working. These brothers had always been very close, so, when the human caretakers had to leave town, they requested that the brothers be boarded in the same cage. Boy -- did that turn out to be a disaster!
Kitties tend to be upset their first few days boarding away from home, then settle in and accept their new situation. However, one of the brothers took this to an extreme; he totally freaked out, hissing, spitting, striking
out at all who came near. Unfortunately, this included his brother who shared the cage with him! His poor brother, utterly confused and taken back by his sibling’s complete change in personality, cowered in a corner of the cage. This only served to anger the first cat more. We worried that the one brother would physically harm the other. With much trepidation we managed to remove the cowering brother to another cage. The removal of his brother didn’t reduce the aggression in the remaining kitty; he still attacked the front of his cage anytime any of us came near!
Driven by desperation, I decided to see if the BFRs could help this extreme situation. I knew I couldn’t get any of the Remedies directly into his mouth without risking my skin, but, luckily, his water bowl was placed near the front of his cage, so I managed to distract him and put a healthy squirt of Rescue Remedy into his water. I then covered the front of the cage with a towel to cut down on stimuli and to give him a safe “cave” and left for the night.
The next morning when I came in, I wasn’t sure what I’d find, but, to my utter amazement, I found a completely different cat in that cage! He was back to his sweet, purring self! We not only could approach the cage, we
could go inside to clean, feed, etc., and he allowed us to pet him, to which he responded with loud purrs and head butts!! Never before or since have I seen a boarded or hospitalized cat make this big a turn-around this quickly! I’m sure the Bach Flower Remedy Angel brought this cat into my life at that point to demonstrate the power of these wonderful remedies!!
In cases where an emotional upset has been going on for a longer time, I’ve found that the response to the BFRs takes longer (up to four weeks or more), and it doesn’t tend to be so dramatic. These cases take more patience, for we tend to want quick results, especially with upsetting conditions we’ve had to deal with for a long period.
I’ve had some patients that I’ve prescribed BFRs for not show much improvement at all. I believe this could come about if I didn’t quite prescribe the correct formula, and/or if the human caretaker didn’t give the formula frequently enough or for a long enough period of time. Also, if an emotional upset is severe enough, behavior modification techniques, possibly combined with medication, may be necessary in addition to the BFRs.
If I need to prescribe a drug for a patient with an especially difficult emotional problem, I also start the BFR formula at the same time. Then, as the behavior problems straighten out, I try to gradually phase out the drug or at least find the lowest maintenance dose and rely mostly on the BFR formula from then on.
How are the BFRs given to animals? For convenience sake, I usually combine all the chosen Remedies together. If an animal needs 5 to 6 Remedies, it’s a darn nuisance to open up all those bottles several times a day! Also, since the BFRs as they are purchased tend to have a rather strong taste which all cats and many dogs wouldn’t tolerate, I dilute the Remedies.
What I do is this:
1. First, I determine which Remedies I feel are indicated for my patient.
2. Then, I take a 1 oz amber glass dropper bottle and fill it to the “shoulder”with spring water.
3. I add 6-8 drops of each chosen Remedy to this dropper bottle filled with spring water.
4. I recommend a dosage of ~1/4 to 1/2 dropperful of this diluted BFR Formula at least 4 times daily. If the situation is very acute/severe situations, I tell my clients they can give a dose every 5-10 minutes as needed.
5. If the patient objects to having the dropper put into his/her mouth, the Formula can be added to the food and water. Or, a drop of the Formula can be put on a finger and rubbed into the bare skin inside the patient’s ear. If other animals in the family ingest some of the water/food with this BFR Formula in it, no harm is done; the BFRs just pass harmlessly through their bodies/energy fields
Even after all these years, I’m still thrilled by the healing these powerful but gentle remedies can bring about!.
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