Gorse vs Sweet Chestnut
Gorse is calm about it and Sweet Chestnut is not. Both feel like the end of the line, but one has settled into resignation and the other is still inside the worst of it.
Sweet Chestnut
Anguish at the end of your endurance, when it feels as though there is nothing left
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Why they get muddled
Both describe being at the bottom of something, and both get carried while you are still going to work and answering messages, which is why neither tends to be noticed. The difference people recognize instantly once it is named is the presence or absence of anguish.
The differences
The temperature
Gorse
Flat. There is often a sigh in the voice.
Sweet Chestnut
Anguished. The small hours, with nothing left and nothing changed.
What you think about hope
Gorse
You have concluded there is none, and you resent being asked to try again.
Sweet Chestnut
You have concluded nothing. You are simply past the end of what you can carry.
How long it has been
Gorse
A long time, usually. The fourth specialist, the third approach.
Sweet Chestnut
Right now. It is an extremity rather than a settled position.
What helps
Gorse
Something being quietly worth a try again, without a pep talk attached.
Sweet Chestnut
Not being alone with it.
Which one to pick
Choose Gorse if
- You have tried the things and none of them changed anything
- You agree to new suggestions to keep people happy and already know they will not work
- It is flat rather than dramatic
Choose Sweet Chestnut if
- You are at the end of what you can carry and the situation has not moved
- It is worst in the small hours
- You are still functioning and nobody has any idea
What if both sound right?
These often sit together across a long hard stretch, with Gorse describing the months and Sweet Chestnut describing the worst nights inside them. If Sweet Chestnut is where you are, tell someone you trust today. This is a place to be accompanied rather than sat in alone, and it does not last.
Common questions
What is the difference between Gorse and Gentian?
How far it has gone. Gentian is discouraged by a specific setback and can be talked round, and a bit of encouragement genuinely lands. Gorse has stopped expecting anything at all and does not want the pep talk. Gentian still has some hope in it, which is the whole distinction.
Which one after a long, hard stretch?
Read both and see which voice is yours. If the tone of it is a flat sigh and a settled belief that nothing will change, Gorse. If there is still anguish in it, if the nights are the hardest part and you are right at the end of your reserves, Sweet Chestnut.
Can I take both at once?
Yes, and it is a common combination, since a long stretch can hold both a settled resignation and the nights where it becomes acute. Two drops of each into a 30ml bottle of spring water, four drops four times a day, as with any personal mix.
Keep narrowing
The pairs closest to this one, if neither of these two turns out to be it.
GentianvsGorse
Gentian is discouraged and can be talked round. Gorse has stopped expecting anything and does not want the pep talk. Gorse is the same feeling, further along.
GorsevsWild Rose
Gorse has tried and lost hope. Wild Rose stopped trying a while ago and does not mind much either way. Gorse still hurts underneath. Wild Rose has stopped feeling much at all.
Star of BethlehemvsSweet Chestnut
Star of Bethlehem is numb. Sweet Chestnut is anguished. Both follow something hard, and the difference is whether you can feel it.
GentianvsMustard
Ask yourself why. If you can answer, it is Gentian. If you go looking for a cause and there is genuinely nothing there, it is Mustard.
Still not sure?
Read both profiles in full, or start from the feeling and let the quiz narrow it for you.