Flower Essences Help Manage Work Stress

Stress in the work environment is unavoidable. The key is staying centered and not letting stressful situations get the better of you. Flower essences are safe, effective and powerful tools that help you stay focused under duress, rapidly regain your composure, confront difficult people and leave your work problems at work.

Flower essences are energetic formulas made from the blooms of healing plants. Each flower essence addresses a specific emotion. Essences can be taken alone to remedy a specific mood or in combinations. The liquid drops can be placed into a water bottle for focus, calm and courage during presentations, conflicts, performance reviews and general support throughout the workday.

Challenging experiences with coworkers is not uncommon. The power play is everywhere. Here is an example and some tips on dealing with them.

Sandra was a project manager at an engineering firm. She had several engineers who reported to her. Her immediate supervisor was the owner of the company. For 6 years Sandra managed her department efficiently with minimal assistance or intervention from the owner. When the company owner hired an administrative assistant, Kaitlyn, to help him manage his responsibilities, Sandra’s peaceful work environment shattered.

Kaitlyn was about 20 years younger than Sandra, inexperienced with the corporate arena and deficient in people skills. Kaitlyn took particular offense to Sandra for no apparent reason, denying her time off, monitoring Sandra’s arrival and departure times and attempting to engage other employees in gossip about Sandra.

Sandra was feeling very angry and frustrated. Her productivity decreased because of the time required to settle conflicts. Her appeals to her boss were unsuccessful because he depended on Kaitlyn to carry out his responsibilities and Sandra conceded to his viewpoint. Eventually, Sandra’s competitor offered her a position, which she accepted. The company lost a valuable employee due to lack of effective conflict resolution.

In this hypothetical situation, flower essences could have released Sandra from the turmoil she took home to her family every night. Her sleep patterns could have been restored to normal, she could have awoken refreshed, embracing the day with confidence, rather than dread, anticipating conflict and looming deadlines. She also would have had support confronting the situation head on, making her needs clear and setting limits.

Anticipation of conflict creates internal tension that often translates to the physiology. Essences release the emotional tension and consequently, the physiological effects of the stress.

Here are some Bach Flower Essences that could have been helpful to Sandra:

Holly to release the anger, rage, revenge and sense of injustice.

Impatiens for the frustration.

White Chestnut to shut off the mental reruns of conversations,

to-do lists and other persistent unwanted thoughts that interrupt sleep time or distract attention from the current moment.

Mimulus for fear of work not being completed on time and future confrontations.

Centuary for activating and strengthening the will force, standing one’s ground and resisting the temptation to cater to another’s weaknesses.

Walnut for protection from negative thought patterns of others, acceptance of change and release of that which no longer serves our best interest. Walnut flower essence deflects external negativity and helps us maintain our viewpoint and direction.

With a combination of all or some of these essences, Sandra could go to work knowing she had tools to help her effectively deal with the challenge-of-the-day. Because the essences strengthen our internal reality, we find the external forces serving to disempower us dissipate. When we cease to react emotionally, we are free to respond to the challenges with calm and centered detachment, offering the resistance an opportunity to dissipate.

Flower essences are an indispensable tool, enabling us to make choices in the work place that are consistent with what is in our best interest. In Europe, Rescue Remedy, an essence preparation for emergency situations, retains an honored place on many women’s desks at work. It’s time our awareness catches up with the rest of the world. More about Rescue Remedy in my next article.

Charlene Briggs is one of 108 Registered Bach Flower Practitioners in the US and practices in the Lionville Natural Pharmacy Holistic Health Center in Chester Springs, PA. For more information on Flower Essences and Flower Essence Therapy, visit www.

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