Herbal ally series -The Quiet Power of Reishi: Finding Steadiness in the Overwhelm

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So at the time I was managing a tech programme that had teams in the UK and the usa. I often felt tired, but I put it down to the travel. Being busy and, well, that’s a normal part of managing a project, isn’t it? I didn’t notice that I was really tired until I really was. It’s the kind of tired that shows up in subtle ways. You start going to bed early, trying to outrun the exhaustion, but your eyes snap wide open the moment your head hits the pillow. We call it wide and tired. Or maybe you’re out at dinner with friends, you’re smiling on cue, you’re making conversation, you’re playing the role. And all the while your body’s aching for the quiet of your couch.

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You may find that for you, perhaps, you’re navigating those school calendars, those deadlines, those client dramas, all with a fixed smile in place, a tight chest and a never ending mental checklist that you can’t seem to put down. You’re still showing up, you’re still delivering, you’re still leading. But something inside has shifted. That brilliance has become brittle. Your leadership still looks polished, but it no longer feels clean because you’re not just doing the work, you’re bracing through it. So that was me. On paper I was thriving, successful role, job going well. But inside I was bracing.

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I thought I was tired because of the travel, the jet lag, the time zone switches. I was managing a multi skilled project team at the time, so you can imagine what that was like with all those computers, competing personalities and I was flying regularly between the UK and the us. But actually it wasn’t the travel, it wasn’t the time zones, it was the over functioning. The part of me that had learned to prove my value by holding it all, by doing more in order to be more. And when I started to unwind those patterns, slowly, gently, not all at once, things began to soften. Not in a fluffy way, but in a steadying, clearing, clarifying way. And later, when I paired that with the identity level work of Neuro identity coaching, well, that’s when it all started to shift. The way I held my team, the way I held myself, the way my nervous system could finally stop performing and start listening again.

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Reishi’s botanical name is Ganoderma lucidum and this mushroom is one of the most well known and widely researched herbs in the world right now. It’s written about in wellness magazines, it’s infused into lattes, bottled in supplements and promoted across social media as the ultimate stress soothing adaptogen. Just this week I was at a conference for founders start startups and Rishi came up even in the networking segments. Not in a clinical context, although we did talk about that, but in conversations about focus burnout and the pressure to stay on all the time, especially when you’re starting up a new company or biotech company, which was the case with this conversation in particular. And that’s the space that reishi is occupying right now. It’s not just a noob, it’s become a symbol for leaders, creatives and professionals of that search for inner steadiness in an overstimulated world. And while the hype’s new, the herb’s not. Reishi has been used for over two millennia in traditional Chinese medicine, where it’s known as lingxi, Often translated as the spirit mushroom or divine fungus.

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It was traditionally used to support shen, the heart mind. Now, not just in terms of our mood, which is what you’ll find in the Western sense, but the deeper presence, clarity and steadiness that arise when your nervous system feels safe. In my clinic, I don’t use herbs to override symptoms. I use them to support restoration. And that’s where Reishi shines. It’s an adaptogen, meaning that it helps your body adapt to stress and restore homeostasis. That natural state of internal balance where your systems are neither overstimulated nor are they shut down. Think of it like Goldilocks.

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It’s not too hot, it’s not too cold, it’s just right. So where your energy flows cleanly, your sleep comes more easily, and your reactions match the moment instead of your historical or default reactions because you’ve probably felt it right. That strange cocktail of feeling wired but tired, where your body’s begging for rest but your mind is racing. You close your laptop, but your shoulders don’t drop. You crawl into bed early, thinking that if you just get ahead of the exhaustion, just a few more hours of sleep, you’ll feel better tomorrow. But your eyes snap wide open the moment your head hits that pillow. You’re exhausted, but you’re also alert. You’re tired, but you’re activated.

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And this isn’t just stress. It’s a nervous system response where it’s running on survival cues. And here’s the thing that no one tells high performing women. When you’ve trained your body to keep going under pressure, it forgets how to slow down. Now, this is especially true for mums who’ve spent years sleeping with one eye open just in case the kids need you. And you know the same for dads too, right? Your body is a master of adaption. It learns how to stay lightly alert even while resting. It learns how to function on fractured sleep and constant readiness.

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And over time, that becomes your new normal. You don’t even realise how hyper vigilant you are. Because your system has recoded. Everyone else is okay as the cue that you can finally feel safe. And this translates to your teams as well as your home life. But the truth is, you don’t actually really know if they’re okay. You’re interpreting it, you’re guessing. You’re filtering every cue through your own bias.

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Your belief that it’s your job to fix it, to smooth it, or to absorb it. That kind of vigilance, it’s exhausting. And what if your body didn’t have to wait for everyone else to be okay in order for you to feel okay? What if safety wasn’t something you earned after holding it all, but something you could return to without asking permission? That’s the shift. And that’s where herbs like Rishi come in. Not to override your brilliance, but to support the system that brilliance lives in. So let’s talk about the how. Because this isn’t magic, it’s biology. The benefits we see, the better sleep, the steadier mood, the improved immunity.

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Well, they come from specific compounds that have been found in Reishi and how those compounds interact with your body system. So in Reishi’s case, researchers have suggested it’s due to a couple of phytochemicals in particular. Now, phytochemical simply means plant chemicals. So it’s a chemical that’s found in the plant. So first up, you’ve got these beta glucans, and they help to modulate your immune response. You also have these triterpenoids, and they reduce inflammation, they calm the nervous system through GABAergic activity, and they protect your brain. Now, GABA is your body’s main inhibitory neurotransmitter, which just means it’s something that helps to slow things down. So when something’s described as GABAergic, it means it enhances or it mimics the effects of gaba.

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In the case of Reishi, this GABA, like action helps promote a sense of calm by quietening overactive brain signals, supporting your transition out of fight or flight. Pretty cool, eh? Now, you’ll no doubt have heard about this thing called serotonin regulation. Serotonin regulation supports deeper sleep and it encourages greater emotional resilience. And the research is coming through farishi in relation to this as well. So, for example, in scientific reports in 2021, they found that reishi extracts increased sleep and serotonin activity in mice. So it’s an animal study. Fibromyalgia. There was a clinical trial that improved sleep quality and emotional stability in people who had fibromyalgia.

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That’s pretty amazing. And there’s some early studies coming through that show that Reishi can lower cortisol and support nervous system recalibration. I love it when the research supports its traditional use, don’t you? So beyond sleep and stress, Reishi is also a powerful immune modulator. So it doesn’t just boost immunity, but it intelligently guides it. A recent randomised trial in healthy adults showed that those beta glucans from Reishi significantly increased CD4, CD8 and NK cell counts along with IGA levels. These are all markers for a sustained, sustained immune response. So this tells us that there are stronger defences, but without that overstimulation and there’s more. Reishi demonstrates impressive patoprotective effects.

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So it supports liver health. And this is in everything to do with your liver, from fatty liver disease to toxin induced damage. And studies show how it supports liver enzymes, it reduces fibrosis in the liver, it balances calcium and it regulates DNA detox pathways. So it helps your liver to recover and regenerate. Your liver is an amazing regeneration machine. Incredible. So reishi doesn’t just do these things in relation to immune systems. The other thing it does, which I really love, is it’s not a sedating her.

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So it restores your access to calm, but it doesn’t force your body into rest, it just reminds it how to get there on its own. And that’s why I still use it. Not every day, not forever, but strategically, seasonally, when my body starts to whisper that I’m holding too much again. Now, when I do take it, I use a few different forms, so most often I’ll take it as a capsule. And the reason for that is simply because it’s convenient, it’s reliable, it’s easy to stay consistent with. It gives me the therapeutic dose I’m after. And I know I get the same dose every time, but when I fancy a coffee and a Reishi boost, I’ll stir in some Reishi powder into my black decaf. I love the taste of coffee, but I get a little bit too excited when I’m on the caffeine.

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And if I see fresh Reishi in the supermarket, well, I’ll snap it up. I’LL slice it into stir fries or drop it into simmering pasta sauces. Not just for the flavour, because it’s not like a strong tasting mushroomy mushroom, but for its function. It’s got this subtle, woody bitterness that blends in well, especially when it’s simmered slow. So while we often think of reishi as a medicinal herb, it’s also classed as a superfood. It’s nutritionally dense, it’s immune, supportive and it’s rich in antioxidants. So traditionally, it was simmered long and slow into broths or soups, an extraction method that draws out its polysaccharides beautifully. And in clinic, I’ll sometimes recommend this as part of a deeper restorative protocol.

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Not just for the chemistry, but for the ritual. Because there’s something profoundly medicinal about taking time to prepare something that doesn’t rush you, letting it simmer, slowing your pace, creating a moment where your body isn’t just being treated, it’s being tended to. Especially for women who spent years running on urgency, the act of making a slow, simmered Reishi broth becomes its own form of nervous system re education. And this is a thing, right? It’s not just about sleep, it’s about recalibration. A reminder to your body that you’re allowed to pause, you’re allowed to be nourished, you’re allowed to need support and to receive it. Because the best medicine, I believe, is the one that you make yourself. The one you stir with intention, the one that reminds your system you’re. You’re safe now.

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Because the best medicine is the one that you make yourself, the one you stir with intention, the one that reminds your system it’s okay, you’re safe now. So if your body exhaled while you’re listening to this podcast, there’s something in you whispered, this is what I’ve been needing. That’s your sign. You don’t need another productivity hack. You need a nervous system that knows that it’s safe to slow down. You need support that honours both your performance and your restoration. And that’s exactly what we explore in say, Revitalise. My one on one coaching experience.

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It’s for high performing women who are ready to stop coping and start recalibrating. At its core, revitalise is powered by neuro identity work. Deep coaching that shifts how your system holds stress, how you show up in your leadership and your visibility. And if it’s appropriate, we can integrate herbal strategies to support your nervous system’s recalibration. Like the one we explored today with Rishi. You see, this isn’t about fixing you. You’re not broken. It’s about helping your system remember who you are.

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When you’re no longer over functioning, when your body trusts you again, your leadership sharpens, Your energy becomes cleaner. Your calm becomes magnetic. And if that’s what you’re craving, then, well, I invite you to book a call with me. It’s a chance to connect. No pressure, no performance. Just a spacious conversation to explore whether revitalise is the right next step for you. The link’s in the show notes. Or you can DM me the word Rishi.

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And we’ll start from there. Because your system wasn’t designed to survive your brilliance. It was designed to hold it fully, beautifully, and without burnout. Sending you lots of love. Bye for now.