Shocking statement

Kratky: “Didn’t manage to call the rescue”

Robert Kratky is fighting his way back to life after the alarm clock, step by step.(Bild: Andreas Tischler / picturedesk.com)

In August, Robert Kratky (52) announced his surprising departure from Ö3-Wecker - after more than two decades as the radio voice of the nation. Health reasons were ultimately the deciding factor. Now the Salzburg native is speaking out in a Q&A session and talking openly about how he is feeling - and how difficult the path to a new life actually is for him.

When asked whether he misses presenting, he answers succinctly: "No, I don't miss it!" At the same time, he doesn't hide the challenges. "There are very good days, there are normal days and there are bad days - and that will take some time. It's a matter of several months."

"Wide awake at 3 a.m." 
Above all, the sleep rhythm remains a problem for the former early morning presenter: "I still wake up every day, usually at three or four o'clock. Then I'm wide awake and try to go back to sleep. By lunchtime, I'm brutally tired because I've divided my life up like that. But I don't want to complain about that."

He continues: "There's a long way between wanting to and being able to, it will take a while. But at some point it will normalize. I'm not really an early riser - I never was. Keep your eyes open when choosing a career."

Robert Kratky is fighting his way back into life after the alarm clock, step by step.(Bild: Andreas Tischler / picturedesk.com)

"There you go!" Robert Kratky got in touch on Sunday and spoke openly in an Instagram Stories Q&A about how his health is at the moment and what he will be struggling with for a long time to come.(Bild: www.instagram.com/robert.kratky)

Kratky also spoke openly about his decision to give up the Ö3 microphone. "Saying goodbye is always difficult. I started in this job when I was 16, as a 'go for man', as they call it in American. So as a 'go for' coffee, for example," he says about his beginnings.

"Didn't manage to call the rescue"
"I've dedicated my whole life to the job," says Robert Kratky looking back. But an experience five years ago got him thinking: "When I sat on the kitchen floor all night and didn't manage to call the emergency services, even though my cell phone was only half a meter away from me, I knew I was overdoing it. And that's why it was only logical for me to leave."

Today, exercise is the main thing that helps him, according to his therapist. "It's going to be a long road, and that's okay." Kratky seems realistic, but not resigned: It's not about perfection, but about taking one step at a time.

If you or someone close to you is in an exceptional psychological situation, please contact the telephone helpline on 142. You can find other crisis hotlines and emergency numbers HERE.