Years ago I had a family member who was an eternal pessimist. Nothing was good. Nothing was fun. She was so depressing to talk with that I would probably have avoided her altogether were it not for a sense of duty. Everyone else was already avoiding her, and that left me.
The doctors called it depression and gave her pills. When she took them she was some better, but definitely not cheerful. And then she’d get tired of taking them and stop. Once when I was taking her to an appointment she opened the car window and threw them all out along the highway.
They even sent her to a psychotherapist – which only added fuel to her fire. If anything, she was even more convinced that life was terrible after visits with him.
But I kept trying. One night I took her to play Bingo at the VFW hall, and she won! She went up to collect her money and came back smiling. But then I made a mistake – I said “Wasn’t that fun?”
She immediately shut down and went back to being pessimistic. It appeared to be a conscious choice – it seemed that her only pleasure came from being chronically unhappy and trying to make sure that everyone else was too.
Had I known about Bach Flower Essences back then I probably would have insisted that she start taking Gentian.
Gentian is the Bach Flower Remedy that brings a return to faith – in God and the Higher Self, and in the meaning of life. It’s the state that a skeptical personality falls into when they lose touch with their higher selves, and Bach Flowers help lift them out of that state.
Some people seem to have been born this way, but usually this negative Gentian state comes as the result of circumstances. It might be illness, or unemployment, or the loss of a loved one. Children who are unhappy in school often fall into this state, as do elderly people who are forced to move to a care facility.
The Bach Flower Essence Gentian won’t change a skeptic into an optimist, but it will allow him or her to see that a positive outcome is possible – and it will allow them to once again enjoy the company of friends and family.
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