Posted on

Recovering From Trauma With Flower Essences

flower essence for shock and trauma

As a service to my community, for the first weeks in the crisis I offered trauma flower essence formulas at no charge for those impacted by the fires here in Northern California. These formulas were focused on easing the shock and fear, down-regulating overactive nervous systems, and helping people start to feel safe again.

This tragedy has affected so many people. It is heartbreaking so many perished in the quick-moving flames, and the number of homes destroyed or damaged is unprecedented. Even if you were one of the lucky ones to have a home to return to, the stress of evacuation and weeks of fear and uncertainty lingers.

One of the strengths of flower essence therapy is to ease shock. Even weeks after the actual events you might still feel numb, unfocused, unable to function, and not quite in touch with where you are. In Chinese Medicine, these are symptoms of Shen loss. The Shen is roughly translated as spirit, and makes its home in your energetic center, your Heart. When a shocking or life-threatening event happens, the Shen departs like a flock of birds when startled. My work, in partnership with the flower essences, is to help your Shen come home.

Flower Essences for Shock and Trauma

Star of Bethlehem, one of the original essences from Dr Bach, is absolutely one of the first essences I reach for in cases of shock and trauma. It calms and soothes, helping you reconnect with yourself and feel safe. This essence is also indicated in cases of trauma or abuse that took place long ago. While it is always ideal to work with trauma right away, the reality is many of us continue to suffer from traumas that occurred early in life and continue to impact us today. Star of Bethlehem is an important essence to help heal trauma, no matter when it happened.

Yulan Magnolia has a strong affinity to the breath and the life force. When we are frightened, we tend to hold our breath or to breathe very shallowly. When we are unable to resume normal breath patterns, we will tend to feel anxious. Drawing attention to the breath and resetting a deep calm breathing pattern helps to bring your nervous system back into a state of relaxation. I have found the Yulan Magnolia to help restore this rhythm and remind us to reconnect to the breath after a shock.

Round-Leaf Vitex is another flower essence that has been useful in trauma. Many of my clients are women who, even before the emergency, were running at nearly full speed all the time. Balancing home, family and work is never easy, and the addition of a crisis was too much for their nervous systems to handle. The Round-Leaf Vitex flower essence helps you recognize when you are doing too much and helps you build in margins of extra energy so you have a reserve.

Arnica flower essence is just as important a remedy as in its homeopathic form. Like the homeopathic Arnica, I think of the keyword as “shocking blow”. So when the “shocking blow” is physical, like a fall, take the homeopathic version, when it is emotional, take the flower essence. Arnica flower essence helps you restore your sense of self and center after a shocking event.

Yarrow is another flower essence that had a place in nearly every trauma formula I made recently. Many companies make essences from different species and varieties of Yarrow, which all have individual talents for healing particular types of wounding. For trauma formulas, I have most often used Yarrow from Alaskan Essences, and from FES. Both of these essences help to strengthen the etheric field after shock. Any kind of trauma can weaken our boundaries, our energy field that keeps our system intact and integrated. Yarrow repairs the etheric field, and rebuilds your energetic boundaries.

These are just a few of the many flower essences useful in shock and trauma. Each formula I make is tailored to the individual. It is important to recognize we all are impacted in different ways by life events, and each person will need a different type of support for recovery. Flower essences are precise healing tools to help you heal, whether from a recent trauma or one long ago. If you are suffering, I hope you reach out. Nature is eager to help you feel better.