Ed Schultz offered an interview to Men's Health magazine to discuss his health. "Three hours of radio and one hour of TV every day makes for a lot of 12-hour days. That’s a lot of stress. A lot of broadcasters die in their 60s. I can’t even get disability insurance because of my occupation. So my goal is to live into my 70s. I’m 58. Managing stress, managing emotion in a high-pressure environment, is the key."
Ed's stress secret? "I have a physical every 90 days." He's checking his blood pressure because of all those conservatives trying to push his buttons:
MH: And yet, on a daily basis, you face people who are deliberately trying to push your buttons.
ES: (chuckles) No doubt.
MH: So what’s your stress secret?
ES: I tell myself: Don’t overreact. Me having red hair, being intense, I have to condition myself that no matter what the news is, no matter what the situation is, whether I’m being treated fairly or unfairly . . . don’t overreact. Think. React with thought. Take a strategic approach to the problem. What’s relevant? What’s not working? What’s the fix? That’s a judgment call, but you get better at that the more you do it. And then you gotta act on it. You can’t let that frustration linger.
But I can’t do any of it if I don’t take care of myself.
MH: What do you do to stay healthy?
ES: I have a physical every 90 days.
MH: Well . . . that’s a lot.
ES: I have to because of my job. I go to the doctor four times a year.
MH: Going back to male narrow-mindedness, it’s hard to get a guy to go to a doctor once a year for a physical, if at all.
ES: I look forward to getting my numbers. If you do that, you know where you are. Are you improving? Are you static? Do you have to make adjustments? And that’s what they are: adjustments. Not grand, sweeping lifestyle changes. Just adjustments. You’ll feel better.
