Dementia and Flower Essences

Many of you who know me, will know that my dad has been diagnosed with Dementia. For a while now I have been treating him with flower essences, with remarkable success. He has accepted his new life in a Care Home and is happy with the routine. He is not angry, only when he gets tired and so far, with lots of ups and downs. I feel that he has finally settled. As a family, the last place we wanted him to go, was into a Care Home and it was only after he had a short stint a Christmas at home, that we all realised that we would not be able to care for him and in some ways it would be neglect as he needed 24 medical care. He is unable to walk and the most basic need of going to the toilet needs 2 nurses to help him.

It was only after my last visit to Ireland, when I was able to spend time with my mum on her own. Did I then realise the devastation she was suffering. She was grieving for the life she had, she missed my dad so much. She said that even at the age of 89, she never expected her life to change. She missed the fact that they did everything together and that he was always there for her to confide in. We spoke at length about how she was feeling and she said that she woke up every morning feeling weak. I was able to understand this and realised that she was feeling anxiety and it was debilitating. We always think of the parent with the dementia but not the other, well I did.

I made up a flower essence treatment bottle of essences that I know will help her; 'Honeysuckle' for missing my dad Star of Bethlehem for shock and grief and 'Walnut' for change. I also added White Chestnut to help her sleep. It has been a very stressful time so a remedy of 'Oak' for me, helped me to be kind to myself. .Don't underestimate the power of flower essences when it comes to dementia. They will support the whole family and 'you' too.