We're all stressed. What should we do about it?We're all stressed. What should we do about it?
All In The Mind
How stressed have you been lately? Are you heading towards burn out? 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. This episode first aired in June 2025. Guest: Dr Rangan Chatterjee GP, author and host of Feel Better, Live More Credits: Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar Senior producer: James Bullen Producer: Rose Kerr Sound engineer: Tegan Nicholls To find the transcript of this episode, head to its original webpage. To explore more great episodes from the award-winning psychology podcast All in the Mind with host Sana Qadar, download the ABC Listen app (Australia) or search 'ABC All in the Mind podcast' wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more episodes on mental health, trauma, attachment theory, wellness hacks, and family relationships. You'll also hear interviews with experts like Esther Perel, Billy Garvey and Ethan Kross. All in the Mind is created for ABC's Radio National by specialist journalists and reporters at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
29:37•10 Jul 2026
Chronic Stress, Micro Stress Doses and a GP’s Wake-Up Call
Episode Overview
- Chronic stress is linked to a wide range of health problems, including autoimmune issues, gut symptoms, low libido and mood disorders.
- Modern medicine often focuses on suppressing symptoms, while many problems stem from lifestyle factors that can be changed.
- Understanding "micro stress doses" helps you see how small daily pressures accumulate and push you towards your personal stress threshold.
- Simple practices like the 3-4-5 breathing technique and a short morning routine using mindfulness, movement and mindset can quickly calm the nervous system.
- Reframing difficult experiences, such as a parent’s death, can change how you live with stress and use it to shape wiser choices.
“Life is simply a set of experiences, and it's the story we put onto those experiences that ultimately determine the quality of our life.”
How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober? One big piece of the puzzle is stress, and this episode of All In The Mind zooms right in on chronic stress and how it quietly tears through people’s health and relationships. GP and wellbeing podcaster Dr Rangan Chatterjee shares the intense story of his father, a consultant physician who worked so hard he only slept three nights a week for three decades.
That relentless schedule ended in serious illness and medical retirement, and it pushed Rangan to rethink what medicine should be doing for stressed-out patients. Across the conversation with host Sana Kadar, you’ll hear why Rangan believes “80 to 90 percent of what we see as medical doctors today is in some way related to our collective modern lifestyles”, with chronic stress sitting at the centre of many issues.
They talk about how constant pressure affects the brain, mood and decision-making, and why long-term stress is linked to anxiety, depression, gut problems and low libido. The episode breaks down stress in everyday terms: email inboxes, social media, caring responsibilities, money worries and the erosion of boundaries between work and home. Rangan introduces ideas like "micro stress doses" that pile up from the moment you wake, pushing you towards your own stress threshold. It’s not just theory.
Rangan offers practical tools such as his "3-4-5" breathing technique, a simple morning routine using mindfulness, movement and mindset, and small habit changes that can ripple through the rest of your day.
He also reflects on reframing his father’s death, saying, "Life is simply a set of experiences, and it's the story we put onto those experiences that ultimately determine the quality of our life." If stress has become your default setting, could a few tiny changes start shifting the story you’re telling about your own life?
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