This is a remedy a colleague suggested for a case of mine earlier this year (thanks Anne!) and shared some materia medica with me. Since then I have used the remedy again and again with amazing results, so I really felt it was a remedy I needed to share.
The remedy Apple Tree is Malus Sylvestris, and the write up is found in Madeline Evans’ Meditative Provings vol.2.
There is also the remedy Malus Domestica, aka Malus Pumila proved by Jean Pierre Jansen in Holland from a Jonathon Gold apple, which I will briefly discuss at the end, as it does have some differences.
Apple Tree is a remedy for trauma, and particularly those who have been “shocked out of their body by trauma, grief, vaccination, operations or anaesthetics”. It is a grounding remedy, for children who are scattered and not present, and for anyone who has had a great shock. It may be useful in cases of post traumatic stress disorder.
They are hypersensitive, to all impressions, and it may be those who are so sensitive and fearful to head out into the world. For children this can help with those who are too fearful to sleep.
Someone who needs Apple Tree may feel foggy, and unable to focus. They may feel anxious and despair, and this remedy is to restore joy, bring freedom and help people come to terms with their shadow or repressed side.
Physically it is suggested as a remedy for jet lag and motion sickness, to help them be present, adjust to time changes and keep the mind awake and alert.
There may be left sided headaches from mental strain.
Eyes are foggy, blurred or may even have cataracts. Fatigue causes the eyes to water.
There can be a sense of a lump in the throat, (compare to Ignatia).
In the gastrointestinal tract it may relieve IBS symptoms, to release and relax and soothe the mucous membranes so they can assimilate nutrients more easily.
It helps regulate kidney function and water balance, someone who needs this may have increased urge to urinate, or swelling around the ankles.
In pregnancy it is indicated for nausea that persists into the second trimester, and if the mother feels like she doesn’t belong – whether this is culture, or community. It could also be indicated for a history of miscarriages.
In the extremities there could be restless legs with twitching and jerking, tension in the legs, and lower back ache.
I asked two of my clients if I could share their stories, one of them wrote this amazing account of her experience:
“The last few years have been extremely stressful and challenging with a child having a complex chronic illness. When she was at the peak of illness it definitely had a significantly traumatic impact – not just on myself but on every member of our family. She is improving now but does have a remission then regression pattern with flares of her illness. Less frequent and severe each time. But I struggled to understand why when our family life was stabilizing and we’ve actually had the best year out of the last 5 in terms of her being healthier and recovering why my stress level and anxiety weren’t reducing equally to reflect that.
One theory I came up with was when you are dealing with a crisis you are in survival mode, I just did what needed to be done and kept going as best as I could to get through. In survival mode there’s no time to process the trauma and pain. You kind of just push it to the side and think I’ll deal with my feelings about this later.
I have used a lot of remedies for grief, exhaustion, overwhelm. When I tried Apple Tree I felt amazing. I woke up the next day and felt very calm and very grounded. I felt what it was like to not be in fight or flight. It’s like I had been frozen in a traumatic reaction or feelings that I just couldn’t move out of and was operating at a very high chaotic frequency. Feeling calm and grounded like I did was the first time I felt relaxed in a long time. My body didn’t feel all knotted up and tense. My brain was quiet instead of the constant buzzing and sense of having 50 tabs open and once and flitting from worry to the next. Because my brain was quiet the brain fog had cleared and I felt very focused. At work my mental acuity was like myself when I was kid free and before all this trauma had happened to me. I also felt hopeful and positive and motivated again. It really illuminated the horrible ‘stuckness’ I had been in. Also when things happened that would normally trigger me, I remained calm, I had a different perspective and was less reactive. In fact writing this makes me think I need to get some more of the Apple Tree remedy to have on hand.”
Another client, had a surgical procedure and came home the day of the Auckland floods. While fortunately there was not a lot of damage from flooding, the situation was overwhelmed, and still in recovery she wasn’t mentally or physically capable of coping with it. As a result, over the next few months, she was on edge, and liable to overreact to potential storms or anything that might be considered a threat.
This was the Apple Tree theme of being shocked out of the body – as operations and anaesthetics can do – but instead of a convalescent period to come back into herself, the stress and overwhelm of the floods compounded this trauma. I prescribed Apple Tree 30c ONCE daily for THREE days.
At the follow-up she had mentioned a huge difference after taking the Apple Tree, that she felt like a normal human being, and feeling more grounded. When I asked if I could share this story, she consented with the comment “that remedy was lifechanging for me”.
There is also this article https://hpathy.com/clinical-cases/a-child-of-god-wiet-van-Helmond/ where Malis Sylvestris, or Apple Tree was prescribed (thanks to Janieke for sharing with me).
Before finishing, I wanted to discuss other apple remedies. The first is Malus Domestica.
The mental emotional feeling was of feeling forsaken and deserted, like they were on the outside and observing what was happening with their families. They also feel irritable when contradicted, and dream of doing everything wrong or failing.
Sensations were stitching or burning pains, and floating sensations.
Malus domestica has headaches with a pressing sensation in the forehead and above the eyes. There may be vertigo with instability and loss of balance.
There may be a feeling as if food was stuck in the throat (like Snow White!).
The abdomen may be bloated or have a feeling as if there are bubbles in the lower abdomen. Cramping which are worse for least movement and better for warmth or lying on the right side.
They can have a profuse, offensive sweat in the armpits.
In the heart there may be palpitations or stitching pains, worse turning the chest to the left side but better lying on the left side.
I haven’t used Malus Domestica, so I have no experience to share here. When I searched I did find this case report of Malus Communis, http://www.interhomeopathy.org/of-apples-and-roses-a-case-of-malus-communis but no other information about Malus Communis.
Finally, there is the Bach Flower remedy Crab Apple, which is a cleansing remedy, and promotes acceptance. It is a remedy for people who dislike something about themselves, and may obsess over this, becoming anxious or despondent. Dr Bach noted that it may also be useful for wounds if they believed there was poison in them. Crab Apple Flower Essence brings acceptance, helps bring love for oneself, and puts problems in perspective.
If you have an experience with any of the Apple remedies, whether Apple Tree, Malus Domestica, Malus Communis or the Crab Apple Flower Essence, I would love to hear it.