Crab Apple
No. 10Feeling unclean or ashamed of yourself, and fixating on small imperfections
8 remedies
Despondency and despair
The largest group, covering low confidence, guilt, exhaustion, shock, bitterness, and the feeling of being unclean.
Eight remedies sit here, more than in any other group, which tells you something about how many shapes low mood takes.
The differences matter. Feeling you are not good enough to try is not the same as feeling guilty for something you did. Being overwhelmed by responsibility you normally handle well is not the same as struggling on long past the point of exhaustion. Bitterness at unfairness is different again from the numbness that follows bad news.
Read the descriptions carefully before choosing. This is the group where people most often pick the remedy that matches the words rather than the feeling. And if things are genuinely heavy, please talk to a doctor as well.
The 8 remedies in this group
Elm
No. 11Temporarily overwhelmed by responsibility you normally carry well
Larch
No. 19Expecting to fail, so not trying in the first place
Oak
No. 22Struggling on well past exhaustion because stopping is not an option
Pine
No. 24Guilt and self-blame, apologizing for things that were never your fault
Star of Bethlehem
No. 29Shock and grief, whether it happened this morning or years ago
Sweet Chestnut
No. 30Anguish at the end of your endurance, when it feels as though there is nothing left
Willow
No. 38Bitterness and resentment, the feeling that life has been unfair to you
Which remedy for low mood?
Eight remedies, more than any other group, and this is the one where people most often pick the word rather than the feeling. Read slowly.
You feel unclean or ashamed of yourself
Crab Apple
Fixating on one small thing about yourself, or on cleanliness, until it takes up the whole day.
One responsibility has temporarily floored you
Elm
You are usually the capable one, which is exactly what makes this so disorienting.
You expect to fail, so you do not really try
Larch
Not laziness. A settled belief that it will not come off when you are the one doing it.
You are still going long past exhaustion
Oak
Stopping does not feel like an option, so you keep going until something gives.
You blame yourself, including for things that were never yours
Pine
The apology arrives before anybody has asked for one, and again afterwards.
Something happened and you have not absorbed it
Star of Bethlehem
Shock and grief, whether it was this morning or twenty years ago.
You are at the end of what you can bear
Sweet Chestnut
The lowest point in the whole system. Anguish, with nothing left to hold on to. Tell somebody today.
Life has been unfair to you
Willow
Bitterness and resentment, and the sense that other people have somehow had it easier.