Bach Flower Database

Botany: Prunus cerasifera
Production: Boiling Method
Represents: Composure

The cherry plum personality is marked by a strong will to control one's emotions, thoughts and behaviors. Cherry plum personalities are very much in tune with their subconscious selves and have a deep personal insight that others may struggle to attain.

In a negative cherry plum state, however, self-censorship is taken to an extreme. Souls in a negative cherry plum state have such a fear of losing control that they may actually fear a nervous breakdown.

Bach believed that bed wetting was a result of the negative cherry plum state. He believed that wetting the bed in night, in the privacy of the child's own room, was a symbol of the child's desire for freedom at other times, too.

Bach also believed that most suicidal thoughts are tied to negative cherry plum states. According to him, the feelings of desperation and despair were directly related to an abandonment of believe in a Higher Power. Bach believed that when the Higher Self was rejected, "dark" forces were able to rise up and take control of the individual's soul.

Imagine a woman who, as a child, grew up in a family in which talking about emotions was not encouraged. In fact, this family was so emotionally repressed that displays of emotion were actively discouraged. To cope with this conflict between her emotions and the expectations of her parents, our woman developed a number compulsive behaviors. These included pacing, compulsive counting and a number of nervous "tics".

As she grew up, she was unable to shed her practice of self-censorship. Eventually it was replaced by a growing fear of expressing her emotions. This, in turn, led her to often describe her mood as "turbulent". To others, though, she seems in perfect control. She is a blank state. They may sometimes describe her as "spacey" or "absentminded".

This woman is in a negative cherry plum state. She has such a deep-seated fear of letting go that she struggles to express even normal feelings, desires and fears.

The Positive Cherry Plum State:

In a positive state, cherry plum personalities are strong, composed souls who can call upon their astounding personal insight for guidance in day-to-day decisions. They have little difficulty recognizing the various emotions they experience during their day and are able to express those emotions in an appropriate, meaningful way.