meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
All In The Mind

Chronically stressed? These small changes can help

All In The Mind

ABC listen

Life Sciences, Health & Fitness, Science

4.4785 Ratings

🗓️ 21 June 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Time and time again, Dr Rangan Chatterjee has seen chronic stress wreak havoc on his patients' lives — contributing to autoimmune disorders, gut problems, low libido and more.

But the most devastating blow struck his own family, when his father's punishing work schedule forced him to medically retire in his 50s.

It’s an experience that led Rangan to rethink his own work and approach to medicine.

Today, Dr Chatterjee, a GP and host of a mega popular wellbeing podcast, shares his story, as well as strategies for better managing stress in your own life.

Guest:

Dr Rangan ChatterjeeGP, author and host of Feel Better, Live More

Credits:

  • Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar
  • Senior producer: James Bullen
  • Producer: Rose Kerr
  • Sound engineer: Tegan Nicholls

More information: 

Rangan's Australian tour

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

ABC Listen, Podcasts, Radio, News, Music and more.

0:07.4

I thought I knew what it meant to feel stressed, or overworked, or underslept, or close to burnout.

0:16.0

I mean, I feel versions of these often enough.

0:18.9

But then, Dr. Rungan Chatterjee told me a story that's almost unbelievable.

0:24.6

It's the story of his father.

0:27.6

So my dad grew up in India.

0:30.6

He came to the UK in 1962, and dad basically worked to give his family in the UK, so my mom, me and my brother, and his

0:41.4

family back home, a better life. But the way dad worked, looking back now, was mind-blowing,

0:49.2

honestly, like, because for 30 years, my dad only slept three nights a week.

0:56.3

Did you catch that?

0:57.9

Three nights a week?

1:01.3

So he was a consultant physician at Manchester Royal Infirmary,

1:04.9

and I can remember this so clearly,

1:06.9

Dad would do his day job in the middle of Manchester,

1:09.2

so we lived in a suburb of Manchester.

1:11.0

So he'd drive home, maybe take him 40 minutes or so, and he'd come in about 6, 6.15pm.

1:18.1

Mum would have dinner ready for him.

1:20.2

He'd go to the kitchen, he'd have dinner, he'd go upstairs and shave, and then at 7pm, he'd leave

1:27.2

the house to do GP house calls all night, and he'd arrive

1:31.8

back again at 7 a.m. When he got in at 7 a.m., he'd have breakfast in the kitchen, he'd go

1:37.3

and sayers and shave again, and then he'd drive 45 minutes in traffic back to Manchester to do his day job.

1:51.0

So for 30 years, dad was doing both of these jobs, and he only slept three nights a week. And I didn't know this at the time, and there was a lot of stress at home, and of course there was, you know, he was exhausted all the time.

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 18 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from ABC listen, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of ABC listen and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.