There is a particular kind of exhaustion that arrives in perimenopause that has nothing to do with how much sleep you got.
It is the exhaustion of holding everything together while something inside you is quietly shifting.
Of waking at 3am with a mind that won’t stop.
Of feeling anxious for no reason you can name.
Of grieving a version of yourself you can’t quite find anymore.
Your blood tests may be normal.
Your life, on paper, may look fine.
But something feels off.
This is where Bach flower remedies come in.
What Are Bach Flower Remedies?
There are 38 remedies in the Bach system, all discovered in the 1920s and 1930s by Dr Edward Bach, a well-known bacteriologist, physician, and pathologist. Each remedy is associated with a basic human emotion.
Bach was a British medical doctor who built a distinguished career in conventional medicine – including years as a Harley Street consultant – before walking away from it all.
He kept observing the same thing: patients with identical diagnoses responded very differently to treatment, and how someone was feeling emotionally seemed deeply connected to how their body was coping. For Bach, an illness was not just a dysfunction of the human machine but an effect of disharmony between body and mind. His guiding principle became: treat the person, not the illness.
From 1930 to 1936, Bach lived in rural areas of England and completed his 38 flower set. He died in 1936 aged just 50. The system he left behind has been used by practitioners around the world ever since.
Why Bach Flower Remedies and Perimenopause Are a Natural Fit
Perimenopause is not just a hormonal event. It is one of the most significant transitions a woman’s body and identity go through – and for many women, the emotional layer is the hardest part to navigate.
The anxiety that arrives uninvited. The low mood with no obvious cause. The feeling of being overwhelmed by a life that used to feel manageable. The exhaustion that is not fixed by rest.
These experiences are real. And they deserve targeted support.
Each remedy addresses a specific emotional state. Here are some of the most relevant ones for women in perimenopause:
Mimulus – for anxiety and fear about known things. The quiet dread about what is coming. The worry about your health, your body changing, what this all means for your future.
Olive – for complete exhaustion after a long period of effort. Not tiredness that sleep fixes. The deep depletion of someone who has been giving everything for a very long time.
White Chestnut – for the racing mind that will not switch off at night. The thoughts that loop and loop. The inability to let something go.
Walnut – for times of change and life transition. Perimenopause itself is one of the most profound transitions a woman moves through. Walnut is specifically for moments exactly like this.
Mustard – for the dark cloud that descends for no apparent reason. The low mood that arrives without warning and lifts without explanation.
Elm – for the overwhelming feeling of responsibility. The woman who is holding everything together and suddenly finds she cannot.
Wild Oat – for uncertainty about life direction and purpose. Perimenopause often brings a profound questioning of identity – who am I now, what do I want, where am I headed? Wild Oat is specifically for this crossroads feeling.
Rescue Remedy – the most well-known blend of five flowers, for moments of acute stress, shock, or overwhelm. Many women keep it in their handbag for exactly those moments.
What Does the Evidence Actually Say?
You deserve honesty here rather than reassurance.
Two independent systematic reviews of the controlled trial evidence – one published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2009, another in the Swiss Medical Weekly in 2010 – both found that Bach flower remedies did not outperform placebo in clinical trials. The researchers noted the number of well-designed trials was small, and that the remedies appeared to be safe with no known side effects or contraindications.
So why do I use and recommend them?
Because the absence of controlled trial evidence is not the same as evidence that something does not work.
These remedies have been used by practitioners and individuals for nearly 90 years. They are safe, natural, and carry no known side effects. They work on an emotional and energetic level that is genuinely difficult to capture in a standard clinical trial design.
In my practice, they form a meaningful part of the emotional support layer for women who are carrying far more than a hormone deficiency. I use them alongside herbal medicine, Metabolic Balance personalised nutrition plans, and breathing techniques – not instead of any of them. They address a layer that the others do not reach.
What I will always be clear about: Bach flower remedies are not a treatment for any medical condition. They are offered as emotional and energetic support, and that is exactly how I use them.
If you’d like to try it out, check out the Bach Flower Remedy Service page here.
Julia Brosnan is an ATMS-registered naturopathic herbalist and certified Metabolic Balance Coach Practitioner at Tree of Health, serving women 35+ across Australia.