To find what’s happened to Michael Mosley quite anxiety provoking

What an utterly bizarre and unpleasant thread this has turned into. If I were harbouring this much anger, blame and desire to publicly condemn someone in the public eye who died, for the circumstances of their untimely death, I’d be asking myself what was really going on in my head.

My Dad was 56 and had a freak cardiac arrest at work with no preceding symptoms in December. He received immediate, high-quality CPR and defibrillation on scene with paramedic arrival in <10 mins. He still didn’t make it due to the brain injury he sustained while he was down and we let him go 3 weeks later. It’s definitely made me anxious (and I’m a nurse), I started grief counselling but I didn’t find it overly helpful as didn’t gel with the counsellor. I think I will revisit it though when it’s a bit less raw.

I haven’t followed the MM story too closely as it’s too fresh for me, but I feel desperately sad for his family from the snippets I’ve seen as he might have had a chance if he had been seen by someone, or if he’d taken a phone with him. But who knows, maybe he didn’t have any symptoms either and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m glad my Dad got a chance, and the immediate care he got let me have him back for 3 precious weeks. My Dad could just as easily have been MM as he was fit, healthy and active and would usually go for an early morning run on holiday in Greece. I can’t imagine how the pain I felt and still feel could be any worse than it is, but I know it might have been if he wasn’t at work, surrounded by people and I had to wait five days for him to be found. Would I have taken comfort that he was doing something he enjoyed in a place he loved? Would I be angry with him for taking such a risk? I honestly don’t know, and my heart aches for MM’s family.

Sorry this is a bit jumbled, I wrote down what had happened so many times for so many people at the time, but haven’t had to do it for a couple of months and still struggle to organise my thoughts on it.

Haven't read the full thread but with regards to your anxiety, I think humans have evolved to be frightened of death, of sudden death in particular. But have also evolved not to think about it all the time. If we weren't worried about death we'd all be more likely to take lots of risks or even kill ourselves through depression and adversity. But if we thought about it all the time we'd never do anything.

I think one of the keys to good mental health is to be in a position to get the balance right.

Death is the last taboo. Every now and then stories like this have a good look at that taboo. And it's disturbing.

100% get what you are saying OP. It's the butterfly effect, how each decision you make in life however small impacts the rest of your life.
Very sadly my neighbour died a couple of months ago, she was only in her 20s. She was in a car accident, a passenger and it was absolutely no fault of the driver, they were just simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. It's devastating and it's really shook me. You read things like this in the papers but to have it happen to someone you know, who lives next door is really hard to get your head around. I can see how you can easily talk yourself out of leaving the house for a fear of what might happen, however what sort of life would you live never leaving the house? Imo it's worth taking the risk and living the life you want to live.

Nailed it @Zone2NorthLondon

Yes it's sad. He was a good egg.
But he lived a great life and he liked to push the envelope in some ways.

He didn't die young. So he wasn't continually reckless. He made it to 67
He may have just had a heart attack which could have happened any time .

Hi OP, I hope you are ok ❤️ I've had a great deal of life changing things related to my health over the past decade: head injury and post concussion syndrome, then being injured further by an off label antipsychotic which gave me a neurological involuntary movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia... all of this is/was life changing and I'd never have predicted any of it.

I'm nnot going to lie, it's just shitty and still affects me a lot but the most powerful and positive thing that I've taken from it is the feeling of total gratitude for all my blessings. As clichéd and cheesy as it sounds, I truly do appreciate the very small things so much more and have immense gratitude fot my freedom, family, love, home, genuine friends, and people who truly care.

It's taught me to really appreciate every single day and be happy with what i have now. Life can change so much in an instant and it's so true when they say 'never think it won't happen to you". There but by the grace of God go I. I'm not religious but this makes me think a lot when I say these words.

Sending hugs ❤️

Questioning whether fasting is healthy is not "distasteful"! It's an important question. Don't be ridiculous.

Many of you are being over harsh applying hindsight and whys to an innocuous decision that unfortunately went wrong
He evidently thought it was a difficult but achievable climb, and undertook it. Perhaps underestimating how arduous to was, after all exhaustion is cumulative. The heat, the arduous conditions etc

He was relaxed on holiday. Professionally and personally inquisitive, he went off on a wander. That was his demeanour. He wasn’t a stay at home and worry kinda man. So all this why?why?why did he go for a walk. Misses the point spectacularly

It is really poor taste to suggest he purposefully chose to make his wife a widow, or die prematurely. Unfortunately he experienced a health emergency. Let’s not apportion blame or engage in pointless handwringing about what-ifs. Curiosity about a new terrain piqued his interest, he went walking. That doesn’t make him stupid or selfish. So show some respect and refrain from the distasteful comments

It is entirely natural when someone dies to ruminate the what ifs and reflect your own mortality. The trick is to not become moribund or overwhelmed. Take positive risks, don’t be scared of the day you’ve never seen

But if he took a wrong turn it makes no difference if he said where he was going.

It was an accident, a series of circumstances that together conspired against him horribly.

Lots of ifs and buts- they don't matter, it happened.

We don't know what killed him yet, let alone whether it was impacted by his nutrition, age or genes.

Whatever he did, anything could happen to anyone at any time. It's hardly like it was entirely due to his "stupidity" or not having a phone or whatever. That area he was in doesn't have mobile coverage anyway. He could have just as easily fallen down the stairs in his house and broken his neck or slipped over and landed on a knife in the dishwasher like in Eastenders. When it's your time, it's your time, but at the same time it's only in the news because it's rare.

Your posts are getting very distasteful. Give him a break and have some respect for him and his family. We don't need to know you superior knowledge on the matter. Don't follow his advice if they don't suit you.

Poor man. He certainly won't have meant to get into the mess he did and end up dead. He was intelligent, astute and loved his family. It is so easy to make a poor decision in heat like that- he may have been ok all the way along the edge of the sea where the boats were and was then faced by a decision. He made the wrong choice, that's all . Who knows how affected he was already by the heat.

It isn't actually a huge climb- the 'hill' is only 60 metres high. I think he underestimated the heat- which was actually 10 degrees hotter at the top of the slope according to The Guardian earlier on, because of the exposure and there was no protection. The way was stony and difficult once he reached the top and I think he must have quickly become overwhelmed and very badly affected - dehydration, over-heating- including his decision-making. By then it was as far back as to go on.He may have thought if he reached the beach resort he could shelter, cool down, have a drink and get a boat taxi back to the village. Unfortunately, the path became even rougher. Look what happened when one of the rescuers stumbled yesterday- he broke his leg.

It's very sad and a salutary warning. We all make poor choices and usually get away with them because not everything conspires against us. In this case, unfortunately for this very intelligent, usually sensible, health professional and scientist, everything conspired against him.

No point in being angry with him or criticising him.

I had a therapy session today and talked about exactly this. I think MM’s death has brought home how we don’t have as much control over our lives as we think. it’s definitely anxiety provoking.
I know someone who was severely injured in an RTA and whose life changed irrevocably a few years ago - such inconsequential decisions lead to catastrophic outcomes.
And then MM wanting to live to a ripe old age - he could’ve been gorging on pizza and chocolate all this time and the outcome would’ve been the same. Maybe that’s a bit flippant, but it’s more should we torture ourselves over our health as we could die tmw in a freak accident.

I feel absolutely the same today - a series of decisions which individually may give no cause for concern but put together in the wrong circumstances can lead to such tragedy. It’s been messing with my head today too. Also the fact that he was so close to safety when he collapsed. What an awful situation.

It’s made me think twice about walking lengths in the heat on holiday. I’ve probably walked way too far in the heat, I’m in my 30s but I don’t suppose age would save me from dehydration or becoming unwell.
I was also talking about MM with my dm who advised that she and df had once walked too far on the rocks in Tenerife in flip flops and she hurt her leg. I think it gave them a fright. I recall her telling me about this at the time.
I’m so sad for mm and his family rip

I don't think he was deluded. What happened to him has nothing to do with nutrition or genes, it was a heatstroke after walking miles in 40 degrees. He made a mistake.

I heard someone once say “There’s no point suffering twice”, and that really stayed with me. If something bad happens, deal with it then - if you’re dead, you won’t care, if you’re not, part of life is dealing with those really difficult things. Maybe it won’t happen at all, and all you’ve done is ruined days or months being anxious unnecessarily.

I struggle to accept the knowledge that one day I’ll be truly dead forever, but I factually know I will and so will everyone I know. We can’t do much beyond the very basics about when we’ll die, so I just try to enjoy what I can and not invite in extra anxiety.

Good luck, OP.

The long benefits of fasting versus just moderately reducing calories on a daily basis are not proven at all.

@LindaDawn I think all they have said so far is ‘natural causes’. They may not be able to establish the exact cause of death, but I expect it will be publicised if that information does come to light.

I’m not unsympathetic to people with eating disorders, they are hell. But it’s not a reason for people not to fast given the proven benefits of fasting for so many. Citing eating disorders also comes across to me as trying to find fault. I’m sure people have started reduced calorie diets and gone on to have an eating disorder also.

I noticed they interviewed some Brits who were swimming and sunbathing near the sea about MM missing and I just thought, how do they do it, how is this bearable.

I feel the same, op. Its quite unsettling to think that he was dead by 4pm but his wife had no idea. She would have been enjoying the holiday and planning the evening blissfully unaware.

From what I have just read, MM was found lying down flat in a position that you adopt when you feel faint. The report I read said he died of heat exhaustion not a heart attack.