Marie is a qualified counsellor and holds a Masters Degree in Counselling from Loyola University, Chicago. Her professional qualifications and experience include: Medical Science, General Midwifery, Oncology and Palliative Care Nursing, Research and Hospital Administration
Flower Essence Therapy
We are
living during a unique period in human history. Over the past 50 years, science has discovered many ways of looking at the world and in the process, has redefined the very nature of what it means to be human. Revolutionary discoveries in medical science have given us an understanding of the way in which the body works and how intricately linked the body and mind truly are. But a new breed of spiritual scientists have begun to explore the links between the body, mind, and spiritual nature of human beings. Vibrational medicine is the evolving field of healing research that focuses on these links. Although the principles behind vibrational medicine are quite ancient, the development of modern technologies which can visualize and quantify the energetic nature of the links between body, mind and our spiritual anatomy are very new.
The concept that human beings are multi-dimensional energy systems is an idea that stems, in part, from the Einsteinian realization that matter and energy are dual expressions of the same universal substrata that makes up all things. Quantum physicists have begun to awaken to the concept that the subatomic particles that make up the entire universe, including people, are actually patterns of frozen energy and light. Many other scientists have begun to see the world in a similar light, having been led there by science instead of pure spirituality and intuition. We are literally beings of light and energy assembled in a way that is fundamentally hidden from our limited physical senses. The vibrational medicine perspective ascribes to this light energy link by viewing humans as multi-dimensional beings consisting of far more than a physical brain and body. The new field of vibrational medicine is actually a fusion of science and spirituality which has defined the energy networks linking the physical body and its energetic substratas to the more rarefied world of spirit. Vibrational medicine views the world from the perspective of vibration and energy with an eye towards how this understanding of our energetic natures can lead to many new and wonderful forms of diagnosis and healing.
Our physical bodies are controlled by many biochemical cellular systems which are, in turn finely tuned by subtle energy systems including the acupuncture meridian system and the chakra system. While our physical body is nurtured by physical nutrients and oxygen, it is also fed by subtle environmental energies such as chi and prana which we absorb through the meridian and chakra networks. These subtle energetic forms of nutrition, understood by ancients of China and India, are just as important as food and water to sustaining life. The subtle energy networks also connect the physical body to another type of energy system - the etheric body - which is a holographic energy template that invisibly guides human growth and development. Scientific evidence for the existence of subtle energy systems is growing. Modern technology has begun to validate ancient wisdom in a marriage of science and spirituality the like of which has not been seen on this planet for thousands of years.
It is only through a fuller appreciation of a multidimensional model of human functioning that subtle energy therapies, such as flower essences, can be truly understood. Modern medicine has become rigid and locked into a mechanistic model of the body, and the model does not explain how subtle life energies can affect cellular machinery. It is only when one takes into account the larger picture of human beings from a newly evolving multidimensional perspective that flower essences as a healing modality begin to make sense. Flower essences do not work like drugs in which molecular patterns often bind to specialized receptors throughout the cells of the body. Instead they work by influencing the subtle energy structures that feed life energy into the body/mind. Flower essences modify energy flow through the acupuncture meridians, the chakras and the subtle bodies with the end result of affecting the very energetic patterns that influence consciousness.
The essences of flowers have been used in healing for hundreds (and possibly thousands) of years. Dr Edward Bach was one of the first modern pioneers of healing with flower essences. Bach was a medical practitioner as well as a psychic who experienced disturbing emotional patterns within himself when he was near a particular flower. He came to learn that taking an essence of the nearby flower would neutralize his psychically induced emotional disturbance. He discovered that the same flower essence would heal similar emotional patterns in others. Bach was among the first vibrational healers of the 20th century to realize how healing the emotions would contribute to the healing of any physical illness, regardless of the cause. It is in this regard, the energetic healing and repatterning of emotional energies, that flower essences have a wide spectrum of applications.
Since Dr Bach's pioneering work in the first half of the 20th century, flower essence usage has undergone a veritable explosion of interest. Working groups that study the effects of local flower essences have sprung up all over the world, from England and North America to the outback of Australia. The merging of healing traditions has also begun to occur as practitioners have learned to apply principles of acupuncture to healing with flower essences by applying them to specific acu-points on the body. (A system and practice pioneered by the Academy founders V. & K Barnao). The wide variety of flower essence applications in healing have become an entire subspecialty within vibrational medicine. We have only just begun to discover the healing wisdom within nature. After all, modern medicine does not have all the answers to healing the afflictions of our techno-industrialized society. Perhaps the real answers to curing modern ailments exist within an exploration of our ancient past in order to synthesize a healing science of the 21st century. The study and usage of flower essences and flower remedies will allow us to rediscover new ways of healing.
The Australian Aborigines The Aborigines have always turned to their exotic flora for help in healing mind, body and spirit
The Aboriginal story of how flowers were born and came by their healing powers, handed down from generation to generation, is told us here by Ken Colbung of the Bibulmun people: The Aborigines living in the southwest of Western Australia are known as the Bibulmun people. Their legends were given to them by the Demmagoomba - the spirits of the old people who lived here previously. According to the Demmagoomba, the creator (also known as the Gujub, God, supreme being or senior spirit) sent the Rainbow Snake, Waugal, down to earth as a life-giving element. It landed at a place in the southwest of Bibulmun country known as Borongarup (Borongurup ranges) piercing the ice sheet of the ice age and allowing the life giving warmth of the Sun Woman to bring back life.
Rainbow colours of the Rainbow Snake gave the flowers their colour at the time of creation. At the Borongarups you will always see beautiful rainbows. Some of the smallest and rarest flowers are only found in this one area.
The Boronga is a clan. It is where you get your spirituality and your mortal being. You can be clan to birds, to a tree or to flowers. Your Boronga is a special being for which you are responsible. If your Boronga is a flower, then you must maintain this flower. It also has a responsibility to you. It gives you a beautiful feeling of colour, of its essence which is the link to the Rainbow Snake.
The flowers of the earth have different link-ups for different people's needs.
The flower sauna is a unique feature of traditional Aboriginal healing and is arguably one of the earliest forms of flower essence therapy, dating back around 10,000 years. The ceremony, still performed the same way today, is conducted by the Mobarn, a man or woman who is healer and Keeper of the Law. The sauna is prepared by lining a shallow pit with hot coals which are then covered with a layer of earth and a thick layer of the flowers chosen. Steam is created by sprinkling water over the hot earth and flowers. Clay is then smeared onto the body of the person being healed - this helps the flower essence penetrate the skin.
The Mobarn takes charge of the afflicted person, who enters the pit and is then covered with an animal skin to seal in the warmth. The person remains there until sunrise the next day, when he or she emerges renewed with the spirit of the flowers.
Living Essences of Australia The Living Essences of Australia have been researched and developed by Drs Vasudeva and Kadambii Barnao, PhD. They are mostly made from flowers that grow in the south-western region of Western Australia, called the Wildflower State, an area known for its prolific and unique flora.
After moving to Australia from New Zealand, Vasudeva began his pioneering research into the native flowers of Australia in 1977.
In 1982 Vasudeva and his wife Kadambii started working together, setting up the Australasian Flower Essence Academy and the Living Essences Clinic in Perth, Western Australia. Together they have made and researched over 200 flower essences and developed the Microvita range of creams and lotions for the relief of pain, arthritis, hypertension, stress and lethargy which are now used in hospitals and by orthodox practitioners (see page 249). This led to the Barnaos being invited in 1994 to create the first university flower essence course in Perth, WA.
Kadambii's work from 1984 with an Aboriginal community brought her into contact with an elder who had been entrusted with the secrets of native healing. He still used the traditional flower sauna, one of the oldest-known forms of flower essence therapy dating back at least 10,000 years.
The Barnaos also initiated research into the benefits of combining flower essences with the ancient Chinese art of acupuncture / acupressure to strengthen the potency of both modes of healing. Their findings led to the creation of some of the world's first Floral Acu-maps, which pinpoint specific flowers for specific acupuncture points. This therapy is proving highly effective in the treatment of pain and stress.
They have pioneered many new flower essence diagnostic techniques such as Baihui diagnosis, Field of Flowers technique and Flower Photography Diagnosis, all of which are taught internationally through their academy's video correspondence course.
At the 1990 World Congress of the Open University of Complementary Medicine and Medicina Alternativa, Drs Vasudeva and Kadambii Barnao were awarded the Gold Star of Excellence for their pioneering research work.
Energy Fields and Systems To understand how flower essences work their wonders, we have to become familiar with the idea that all living things are infused with energy, or life-force. We cannot see or touch this energy, but like the air we breathe, it is essential to life.
Most people living in the West find it hard to believe that there may be more to us than meets the eye. In other regions of the world, especially the Far East and Asia, this view is commonplace.
Over 5,000 years ago Indian holy men spoke of a universal energy. Known as prana, this energy is still seen as the basic constituent and source of all life. Prana, the breath of life, moves through all things and brings to them vitality. The same idea forms the basis of Taoism, the ancient Chinese philosophy which also emerged during the 3rd millennium BC. It holds that the universe is a living organism infused and permeated with a rhythmic, vibrational energy called `chi' or `qi' movement. This chi flows along a network of channels called meridians, which spread like an intricate web through the body. It may be likened to a second nervous system which forms a connection between the physical body and the subtler energy system surrounding it. It may also be perceived as an aura of light that may at times be colorful. Common to Eastern medical and mystical traditions is the idea that special centres known as `chakras' play a vital role in moving energy around the body. There are seven major chakras which are inextricably linked to the meridian system.
The chakras may be regarded as `transformers', simultaneously receiving, assimilating and transmitting energy. They are capable of gathering and holding various types of energy, and can also alter their vibration so this energy can be used for different purposes - for instance by bringing higher vibrations down to the physical plane.
You could visualize the chakras as many petaled, vibrantly coloured flowers which are attached by invisible threads to the spine.
These `petals', known as nadis, are woven into the nervous system and distribute the energy of each chakra into the physical body. The chakras are continuously opening to receive information about the state of the subtle bodies (see `Fields of Energy', below) and closing again, rather like a periwinkle which unfurls its petals when the sun shines.
The seven chakra centres govern the major glands of the endocrine system and influence both our physical and psychological health.
These energy systems are considered separate entities for simplicity's sake, yet they are all inter-linked and constantly interact with each other, functioning as an energetic whole. The meridians link up and pass through the organs of the body - it may help to picture the meridians as rivers of energy that are constantly on the move, flowing in and out of one another. There are a further eight energy channels (known as the extraordinary meridians) which hover in between the etheric and physical bodies. They act as a sort of energy reservoir, borrowing points from the organ meridians yet forming their own pathways between the nervous and circulatory systems.
These meridians relate strongly to our vitality and emotions / states of mind. Their prime function is to feed the main meridians with energy, qi or life-force. The most important extraordinary meridian travels straight up and down the centre of the body, connecting directly with the major chakras. As we have already seen, these in turn link up with the subtle bodies. All seven subtle bodies enter and leave the body through various chakras, or portholes.
The subtle energy system may be visualized as diaphanous layers held in place with thin membranes which separate yet allow them to diffuse into one another.
The aura has its own unique part to play: It is a reflection of physical vitality. The more balanced and healthy you are, the greater your auric field. This force-field can radiate some three to four feet from the body, its energy infusing the whole subtle body system. In ill-health the aura shrinks back close to the body in an attempt to conserve vital energy.
This entire energy system is in a continuous state of motion. You might want to visualize the different energies as swirling mists of colour and light interacting with and receiving information from each other - a multi-levelled interfusion. These energies are constantly interchanging, redistributing and re-balancing themselves.
When all the elements of the energy system are in balance we experience a deep sense of contentment and well-being. These are the times when life is joyful and everything feels comfortable. Think of those days when you wake up brimming with energy and looking forward to the day ahead. This abundant physical vitality goes hand in hand with a clear, focused mind. You are blessed with a sense of inner calm and cannot be ruffled by other people or the hustle and bustle of life. Deep down you feel safe and secure, as if cocooned from any danger lurking in the outside world, while at the same time totally involved in the here and now. These benefits come from knowing you are following a path or going in a direction that is right for you, for there is an abundance of energy or chi which can be used to override any disturbance or misalignment. There comes a point in time when this energy reserve is exhausted, however, and the imbalance begins to become ingrained in the system.
The Higher Self knows when this is happening and sends us warning signals in the form of physical, emotional and psychological symptoms. Typical signs of an energy imbalance are tiredness, feelings of anxiety, irritability and depression, as well as a susceptibility to colds and other infections. Shock and stress in their many guises have a devastating effect on the energy system.
Flower essences are unique in their ability to restore and enhance a sense of total well-being in mind, body and spirit. Unlike most other remedies, flower essences act as catalysts to re-balance the body's vital energy. In doing so they provide the perfect antidote to stress-related upsets.
It is clear that stress in all its different guises disrupts and diminishes our natural life-force. Feeling tired and depleted, for example, is a sure sign that the body's energies are out of kilter. Upsets at this level inevitably precede other kinds of niggling minor ills and may eventually lead to more serious conditions.
We may take a holiday to escape the stresses of life when we start to feel run down. This temporarily recharges the batteries, but it will not get to the root of the problem. It is important that we redress the ingrained imbalance, which may originate and be linked to any shock or trauma that occurred many years ago.
Many of these subtle remedies act on the mind, easing all kinds of emotional and mental turbulence. Feelings such as fear, guilt, anger, anxiety and irritability do not only detract from the pleasure of living. If left unchecked, they slowly and insidiously wear down the body's resistance to illness, leaving us vulnerable to all kinds of health problems. Orthodox drugs, acting at the physical level, alleviate symptoms but do not give rise to a real sense of well-being.
Tranquillizers may ease discomfort by distancing us from reality and dulling our reaction to stress, but they do not provide us with the tools we need for coping with and overcoming it. In contrast, flower essences act at the higher emotional, mental and spiritual levels before filtering into the body. When taken in conjunction with other remedies flower essences enhance and at the same time clear away any unwanted side-effects provoked by the more physical or `denser' types of medicine. These gentle remedies can be used successfully alongside prescribed drugs to speed recovery from accidents or operations and help overcome all kinds of disease. They will also bring benefit to those who are trying to wean themselves off anti-depressants, sleeping pills and other mood-elevating drugs.
A Day in the Life of a Panic Sufferer As I approach the bus, the symptoms become much worse. It's like being hit by a tornado. My mouth goes dry, my heart starts pounding, I feel sick in my stomach, I can hardly breathe, and my hands are shaking. I am sure that I am going to faint. I don't know how I manage to reach my seat - I feel as if I am just a spectator, everything seems a bit unreal and distant. Am I going crazy? I bet the other people on the bus have noticed. I really can't control my breathing any more, I feel like I am going to suffocate and die. When will it end?
By the time I get off the bus, the symptoms have lessened. Why do these attacks start and stop for no reason? I feel drained, exhausted and weak. I can't think straight. Maybe I should give up taking the bus for a while. Or should I go to the hospital for another check-up? I don't know. I can't cope with this any more. All I know is that I spend most of my time worrying about having another attack. I can't go on like this or my whole life will be ruined.
That night I lie in bed tossing and turning, and the next morning I awake exhausted. It seems ridiculous, but my mind keeps wandering back to those dreadful feelings I had on the bus. What if I have an attack when I'm out shopping? Will I be able to escape before it gets so bad that I can't reach home? I keep checking my body for symptoms. I think about those strange tingling and numb feelings I had in my hands and feet. I have heard that you can have funny feelings down your arms when you are having a heart attack. Perhaps that's what is wrong with me.
At last, I drag myself out of bed. I have the hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach and I feel a bit light-headed. I know the doctor said "everything is OK," but it is hard to believe that. There must be something seriously wrong with me. Maybe I should insist on seeing a specialist. They must have more accurate tests to pick up something wrong with your brain or your heart.
I am irritable with the kids at breakfast. They seem bewildered about my moodiness, but I can't tell them about my worries. What if I am seriously ill? It's better to keep it from them until I am sure. Anyway, they will just say the usual things about my worrying too much. I have an extra few cups of coffee to wake my up so that I can cope with the day. We talk about visiting mother in hospital and that seems to upset me even more. She has always been so healthy and now she has suddenly been taken ill. Life seems so unpredictable.
After seeing the kids off to school I rush to get the bus. I notice that "clamping" sensation is starting in my chest. I am having difficulty breathing and I feel hot and sweaty. I just hope that I don't have that "spaced out" feeling on the bus. Why do I keep feeling like this? It seems to be getting worse. Why can't I be confident and in control the way I used to be? I must pull myself together.
Introduction
I have a busy counselling practice and people of all ages are referred to me with a wide variety of problems. I have been using Flower Essence Therapy as an adjunct to my counselling for the past three years. The one area where I have had the most striking results is the treatment of Panic Disorder. With the initial six cases treated I used the flower card diagnosis to determine which essences to use. In doing this I noticed that the same essences were consistently chosen. I then decided to use those essences for each person who presented demonstrating the classical signs of panic disorder. The result I have obtained have been very satisfying and point to a future loaded with potential in this area.
Panic disorder is an important clinical diagnosis for many reasons. Firstly, panic disorder is the first psychiatric syndrome to have been defined by a biological response in that panic attacks have been observed to be particularly responsive to treatment to the tricyclic antidepressant Impramine. Thus, it stands as an example of what many would see as a new and important branch of psychiatric neurology, namely that based on the biological understanding of a disorder. Panic disorder is also important because of the growing evidence of it's prevalence, severity and the consequent personal and economic costs. Although extremely common this disorder is frequently misdiagnosed and often mismanaged. This is stressful for the sufferer and reinforced the belief that nothing can help them.
One of the important issues concerning the use of medications in the treatment of panic disorder is whether or
not a short - or a long term therapy with these agents provides lasting gains once they are withdrawn. Several studies have been carried out in this area and the results are still inconclusive.
Stage 1: Spells of Anxiety
These occur suddenly, spontaneously, without warning, and for no apparent reason. Victims feel as if a part of the body has for a brief time lost control of itself. Symptoms include one or a few of the following: lightheadedness, faintness, dizzy spells, faintly sick feeling, sensation of fading out from the world, a feeling of imbalance while standing or walking, "jelly legs" (as if they are giving out), difficulty breathing, heart palpitations (awareness of pounding or racing), chest pain or pressure, choking sensation, nausea, hot flashes or flushes (sometimes with blotching of the skin), cold chills diarrhoea, headaches with associated pain in other parts of the body, de-realization (things around become strange, unreal, foggy, detached from you), depersonalization (feeling outside or disconnected from your own body or a part of it).
Stage 2: Panic Attacks
These sudden episodes of intense apprehension, fear, or terror, often with feelings of impending doom, include at least four of the following symptoms during each attack: (1) difficulty breathing, (2) heart palpitations, (3) chest pain or discomfort, (4) choking or smothering sensations, (5) dizziness, vertigo, or unsteady feelings, (6) feelings of unreality, (7) tingling in hands or feet, (8) hot and cold flushes, (9) sweating, (10) faintness, (11) trembling or shaking, (12) fear of dying, going crazy, or doing something uncontrolled during an attack. these episodes usually last minutes; rarely do they continue for hours. They occur as often as three or four times a week, and in female patients they are more likely to occur pre-menstrually. One patient insisted: "If you invented hell, you'd have to include this as part of the package."
Stage 3: Hypochondriasis.
The patient unrealistically interprets his or her physical signs or sensations as abnormal, and then become preoccupied with the fear or belief of having a serious disease. Thorough medical evaluation does not support the diagnosis of any actual physical disorder, but the preoccupation persists despite medical reassurance. Impairment of social or occupational functioning is usual. Often a variety of physicians are consulted, as one body system after another is believed by the patient to be diseased.
Stage 4: Limited Phobias.
These are abiding, irrational fears of certain situations or things that are in some way related to the first spontaneous panic attacks (stage 2). If it happened in a bus, open space, small enclosure, shopping centre, church, tall building, when alone, in a crowd, near an animal, or in any other specific circumstances, fear becomes attached to similar objects or situations, by unconscious association, and a compelling need to avoid these becomes as strong as the anxiety is intense. The individual realizes that his or her fear is excessive or unreasonable. Single phobias can also be acquired in other, more complex ways, which Sheehan describes in his book.
Stage 5: Social Phobias.
This is a persistent, irrational fear of, and compelling desire to avoid, a situation in which the person is exposed to possible scrutiny by others and fears that he or she may act in a way that will be humiliating or embarrassing. Eating, drinking, writing, or speaking in public may be avoided. Again, the distressed individual recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable.
Stage 6: Agoraphobia/
Extensive Phobic Avoidance.
As anxiety attacks and spells become more frequent, more phobias are acquired. In other words, the increasing number of frightening or terrifying episodes occurring amid new circumstances results in the development of fears of additional places, objects, and situations, again through a process of unconscious association.
The term "agoraphobic" (derived from the Greek work agora, meaning a place of assembly) is generally used to describe individuals who have acquired a considerable number of phobias and, as a result, are either housebound or immobilized to such an extent that relatively few ordinarily encountered situations remain unlinked to fearfulness. Dread of open or crowded places, public transportation, being alone, crossing a bridge, and entering a tunnel is commonly found among these chronically timorous individuals. Still, their most intense and incapacitating fear is that of going through another spontaneous panic attack.
Stage 7: Depression
Feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness, and guilt are accompanied by a negative and pessimistic attitude toward things viewed positively before. These are not constant, but come and go unpredictably. Guilt feelings are especially centered on the illness-caused restriction of the lives and opportunities of others, particularly loved ones. Although these signs of depression are similar to those seen in other depressed states, in this stage antidepressant medication is not usually helpful; neither is suicide likely to be attempted.
Sheehan and many other physicians today are convinced that three different forces interact to bring on the various stages of the anxiety disease. These include (1) a physical defect (probably neurobiological and endocrine) that lies at the centre of the disorder, (2) psychological conditioning (through a process of unconscious association) that results in a multiplication of feared objects and situations, and (3) stress provoked by things going wrong in the environment.
The credit for having started the process of dissecting panic disorder out from `anxiety neurosis' has to be given to Donald F Klein, who showed that panic attacks responded to imipramine but not to benzodiazepines; for free-floating anxiety without paroxysmal attacks the inverse was true. Consequently anti-depressant drugs have now become the just - line treatment for panic disorder.
There have been impressive advances in the treatment of panic disorder since the early 1980s. Several carefully designed studies, together with the extensive clinical experience of experts, indicate that with guided practice more suffering of panic disorder should make a good recovery. Most of the studies conducted have investigated people who have full symptoms of panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia, but there is no reason to suspect that sufferers of less intense panic attacks will not benefit from these techniques. Treatments that have been evaluated across the world include both psychological interventions, particularly techniques which fall under the broad heading of cognitive behavioural therapy, and medications, especially using drugs call the tricyclics and the minor tranquilizers (or benzodiazepines). The choice for the clinician is between a fast acting drug of the benzodiazepine class such as alprazolam and one with delayed efficacy but fewer problems of withdrawal such as a TCA or SSRA. The different time course of these two classes of agent in panic disorder is shown in Figure 2. The benzodiazepine works to reduce panic frequency and severity in the first week and this effect increases up to about 4 weeks. It remains effective over the remaining period of treatment, up to many months, and few patients display any significant tolerance to the therapeutic action. However, on withdrawal there is a clear cut increase in symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks. This is seen even with a gradual withdrawal over a 1 month period and is maximal when the final part of the dose is removed. Withdrawal is not seen in all patients but, conversely, can be so problematic in others that they elect to stay on the drug.
In contrast, the antidepressants have almost the opposite profile. On the initiation of treatment they can cause an increase in anxiety and panic frequency, occasionally of extreme proportions. This can result in patients stopping their medications after even a single dose! However, this provoking action usually remits by 2-3 weeks, after which time a marked reduction in panic is observed (figure 2). The therapeutic response is often very marked because many of these patients have a coexisting secondary depression which is also treated; the end effect can be that patients experience hugely positive transformations in their life. Not uncommonly these lead to new relationships, improved functioning at work, promotion and other indices of success.
Experts differ somewhat in their views about the use of medication for panic disorder. Several studies have shown that medications such as the minor tranquilizers (known as the benzodiazepines) and the tricyclics (traditionally used to treat depression) are effective in reducing symptoms of panic. Those therapists who are concerned about the use of medications raise the following issues:
- many sufferers do not wish to take medication;
- medications have side-effects which can themselves be upsetting;
- some medications encourage dependence after long use, and the ensuring withdrawal symptoms may mimic anxiety;
- taking medication does not help the sufferer gain control over the problem;
- people may suffer a relapse after they cease taking medication;
- in some cases, medication may interfere with attempts to learn techniques of self-control.
Medications may be useful in the short term, for example where anxiety is very severe, where the person is not in a state to commence practicing anxiety management techniques, or in other circumstances that make it difficult to use psychological treatments. Wherever possible, however, non-drug approaches to treating panic disorder should also be attempted, to lessen the sufferer's need to take medication. Where medication is used, it should be under the direct supervision of an experienced medical practitioner. This will ensure that the dose is carefully monitored, that possible side-effects will be detected and that the drug can be gradually withdrawn over time if appropriate.
Diagnosing Panic Disorder
The key to diagnosing panic disorder is the presence of panic attacks that occur out of the blue.
The people in this study had all or some of the symptoms shown in the diagram to varying degrees of intensity. Individual patients were asked about individual symptoms. This helps to clarify the diagnosis.
Each person was asked to describe their first panic attack in detail. It was interesting that this was remembered by all the participants in some detail. There was also a strong emphasis on the profound fear that the symptoms engendered. There are some key questions which I find useful in helping to make the diagnosis of panic attack. Since they imply a knowledge of the condition they also reassure the patient that their symptoms are understood which may be therapeutic in itself.
1. Do you prefer going to shops on your own or with a friend?
In panic disorder, people generally prefer to be accompanied in case anything happens.
2. Do you like shopping in supermarkets?
Checkout queues can be a problem particularly for people with panic attacks.
3. Where do you sit if you go out for a meal?
People with panic tend to sit close to the door/exit to allow easy escape.
The people considered for this report were all female. Their ages ranged from 22 years - 63 years.
All of the participants had experienced at least one panic attack in the week prior to seeing me. Four of the women had been suffering from panic attacks for at least five years. Three others experienced their first attack shortly after the birth of a first baby. One woman in her thirties, a dental technician, started having attacks while working with her patients. It created a terrifying situation for her. It meant that some days she couldn't face work. She had been doing the job for eleven years and was regarded as a very skilled practitioner. She was seriously considering giving up her profession. After my second session with her I realised that her hectic schedule was contributing to her high state of anxiety. It took some time for her to accept this because the situation had evolved over a few years. An unfair dismissal from a job lead to another woman's first experience of a panic attack. When a woman in her sixties had to deal with the unexpected death of her father she experienced several weeks of crippling attacks before her doctor referred her to me for counselling. I have only had one person refuse to use the essences. Some agreed to try them with a fair amount of scepticism. Others said they were prepared to try anything.
Results
Age does not appear to have influenced the onset or the course of the disease in any way.
The panic attacks were consistently described as sudden episodes of intense apprehension, fear or terror, often with feelings of impending doom. Each person had four or more of the following symptoms during each attack: (1) difficulty breathing (2) heart palpitations (3) chest pain or discomfort (4) choking or smothering sensations (5) dizziness, vertigo or unsteady feelings (6) feeling of unreality (7) tingling in hands and feet (8) hot and cold flushes (9) sweating (10) faintness (11) trembling and shaking (12) fear of dying or going crazy.
Of the twenty women I treated 80% were taking some form of anti-depressant medication. 10% had been prescribed a tranquillizer to take with the anti-depressant. 20% were trying to manage without medication either by choice or because their doctor preferred to withhold medication until counselling had been tried.
All the participants agreed to try flower essence therapy at their first or second visit. The same essences were given to each person.
The rate of response of individual patients varied slightly (see Table for results). 65% of patients reported a reduction in the frequency of panic attacks and the degree of stress they were feeling after one week. A small number of patients took a little longer before they could say with certainty yes, there was a definite improvement. For this 15% of the patients a lessening in the frequency of panic attacks was established at 10 days. A slightly larger group 20% set their time of improvement at two weeks. The majority of participants 65% admitted to being free of panic attacks after four weeks, 15% after three weeks, and 10% after two weeks. I suggested to all of the participants that they should continue to take the essences for at least six months. I stressed that at no time were they to be without their essences. 80% of the participants were still taking the essences after six months. 15% continued with the essences indefinitely which means they were still taking them two years later. 5% of people stopped taking the essences after twelve months, relapsed after the original cause of their attacks returned to their life. They recommenced taking the same essences that had previously been prescribed for them. They was free of panic attacks within two weeks and are still taking the essences.
PRESCRIBING FLOWER ESSENCES
Selecting the Flower Essences
The essences chosen by the initial six clients in this study were chosen by using the flower affinity diagnosis technique. In using this technique the client is self-diagnosing by using their reactions to different flowers, displayed in photographic form in front of them. The basis of this technique is the human trait of being attracted to that in Nature which heals them, similar to the instincts of animals in the wild. This trait is seen in the flowers chosen for gardens, and how people are drawn to certain flowers at different times in their lives. There is also the phenomenon of negative attraction, where the flower represents something that stirs the mind with some intensity that is perhaps not so pleasurable. In this case it is also needed as in the long run it deals with important aspects of the person's well being. Any flower which does not impact greatly is then neutral and is not used. After using this technique with six clients I noticed a trend developing, for example: The flowers Pink Fairy Orchid, Geraldton Wax, Fuchsia Gum, Ribbon Pea, Happy Wanderer, Purple Flag Flower and WA Smokebush, were among
the essences chosen by 75% of clients. I related the essences to the symptoms the clients were experiencing, since 100% of clients used were free of panic attacks after four weeks I decided to use those seven essences with all future clients presenting with panic attacks.
Preparing the Flower Essences
The flower essences used were prescribed orally. With oral dosing the amount of the flower essence used can be adjusted to the level of activity upon which the mind state is most obviously manifesting. This can enhance the rate of response. The number of drops of each essence required for individual clients was determined by using the Field of Flowers Technique. After assessing how many drops of each flower are needed, they are put into a dropper bottle with brandy as a preserving base.
Each client was prescribed six drops in a half glass of water morning and late afternoon
i.e., 7.00am and 6.00pm.
The oral dose (in a 25ml bottle) will last between 6 to 8 weeks.
The client was also to take 2 drops under the tongue at 5 min intervals if they felt an attack coming on during the day or night.
All the clients were reviewed at weekly intervals.
Discussion and Conclusions:
This work is by no means complete. Writing this paper has enabled me to identify a number of areas that will require further work and development. I would like to regard this as the first step towards a much more extensive study. Psychological theories of panic and anxiety are in the early developmental stage. This is due to the explosion of data in the last decade and this has changed previous theories of the nature and etiology of panic and anxiety.
I am unsure as to how any of the research I have referred to will influence the use of flower essences in the treatment of this disease. Data is beginning to accumulate on the importance of the contribution of parenting styles and early experiences to psychological vulnerabilities for anxiety and panic. The use of drugs from the outset would certainly inhibit the explosion of those areas. Since the essences do not work like drugs people would remain open to the exploration of life experiences. Further, they would not have to cope with the inevitable side effect of drugs. These vary from drug to drug, but they all have a generally disruptive influence on the energy systems. Whatever, the theories it is certainly an area that offers great potential for the use of the essences. Taken in conjunction with orthodox medication, flower essences gently help to buffer these undesirable effects. They can also be taken after a course of medication to realign the subtle bodies and generally re-balance the energy systems.
I firmly believe that what sets flower essences apart from other forms of remedies and therapies is their ability to address physical, metal, emotional and spiritual aspects of ourselves simultaneously, to bring about complete healing. The beauty of flower remedies is that they are relatively inexpensive, easy to use and totally free from any unpleasant side-effects. Furthermore, flower essences enhance self-knowledge and understanding, helping us to take back responsibility for our own health, happiness and fulfillment.
When tracing back the historical development that lead to the development of panic disorder as opposed to an over-inclusive category of "anxiety" neurosis, the focus of the work being done is that panic disorder should be regarded as a separate diagnostic entity. This of course would simplify the process of finding a suitable drug to treat it. Here again the flower essences have the advantage. The healing potential of each essence it quite broad. More importantly perhaps, flower essences actually allay the need for taking orthodox medication, for if taken soon enough they can help prevent disease from occurring in the first place. Flower remedies may, for example, negate the need for antibiotics by boosting the body's natural immunity. They help by clearing away physical toxins as well as toxic thoughts, emotions and, last but not least spiritual toxicity which pollutes the energy system. As a consequence the body's natural defense system is strengthened and becomes better able to repel viral and bacterial invasion.
To be working with an area of health that is currently receiving wide attention, research and with such an impact on people's lives is very exciting and fulfilling. That panic disorder is a distinct diagnostic entity is a good working hypothesis. At the same time, flower essences appear to be offering us a way of finding inner balance by enhancing our well-being at a time when many other systems are failing us. in this respect they may truly be the medicine of the future
