Gorse is the remedy for people who have given up belief that there is any hope for them. It is a far stronger kind of downheartedness than the Gentian state, because Gorse people almost wilfully refuse to be encouraged, so certain are they that their case is hopeless. If ill, they may think of themselves as incurable, or say that they inherited this or that from their families so that nothing can be done for them.

Gorse is however classed by Dr Bach as a remedy for uncertainty, and not as a remedy for despair like for example Sweet Chestnut. This demonstrates that the main problem with Gorse people is a loss of certainty: if they can be persuaded to see things in a different light their faith in their lives would be renewed and they could go forward with a surer step. This is what the Gorse remedy helps to achieve.