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

To be fair we don't yet know exactly what happened to him. If he had a heart attack, he could have been dead instantly and having a phone would make no difference.

Incidents like this are rare. I don't think it's worth worrying about something similar happening to you or anyone close to you. You can take sensible precautions, like not exercising hard when you know it's too hot for you, but it's not worth spending time worrying about hypothetical situations because situations like this are both rare and random.

Op, I think you have to separate the bolt out of the blue, entirely chance-led incidents (such as becoming caught up in a terrorist attack) from those you can influence through personal control and by reducing risk. The former is a small number, a grain of sand on a beach.

You can directly affect your chances by taking small, important steps. Like stopping smoking, eating healthily, and not hiking in midday sun over rough terrain with no water and no means of contact. I'm really sorry for his family that this happened, but he was a doctor who made a series of significantly risky decisions that unfortunately led to his death. Unless he suffered another bout of amnesia of course, which I suppose is possible.

What I'm saying is, you will start to find your anxiety improves once you realise that there's actually a huge amount of control you can take to reduce the risks.

Some of these posts are in very poor taste. This is a man who did absolutely everything he could to live a long and healthy life - far more than most of us do. Something obviously went terribly wrong last week, none of us know what really happened.

I hope you've got the perfect diet and exercise regime @Gettingbysomehow , you wouldn't want people publicly criticising your stupidity if you don't live to a ripe old age.

My DH is 64 and honestly he doesn't think that he is even slightly older or more vulnerable. He acts like he is 30, doing "daft" things like really vigorous games of tennis/football in the heat of summer.
They think they are invincible.

I think his death is a brilliant illustration of the fallacy, that he built his own career on no less, that we can take control of our destiny quite easily.

In reality, it’s a lot more luck than judgement. Some people face far greater challenges in their life than he did. Yet it’s seen to be ok to blame people for over eating while his bad decisions are going to be washed over.

Same as people who get injured skiing get a lot more sympathy than people who get injured drunk. Ultimately, both are just trying to have fun with the hand life has dealt them.

You could die in your house of obesity from never leaving the house.

I am going to continue my solo hikes in various countries including Greece. With my phone and not too remote.

No it doesn’t fill me with anxiety .. it makes me cross that a highly intelligent man could do something so nonsensical.. he paid a high price and now his poor family have to pick up the pieces 😩

You're not alone @Gettingbysomehow it was just pure idiocy. I honestly don't know what he was thinking.

Getting hit by a bus, something going pop in your head, going to sleep and not waking up. Yes I can see how the not knowing aspect of it is a bit anxiety inducing.

But everything about MM's escapade is just... stupid.

I’m sorry to sound cold but this incident was a case of you play silly games and you win silly prizes.

Going for a walk in an unknown place in extreme heat without the correct resources or enough water and without a phone!

Try reframing your thoughts. Marvel at how many years you've managed without such an incident. Use it as an excuse to life life fully and do the things you really want....and don't tolerate bullshit. My dm is plagued by anxiety and would rather sit at home avoiding things she'd enjoy than take the risk of a bad event happening doing something she'd love.

Yes I know what you mean too. I have been thinking about him and what happened at the back of my mind all day. I’m not going to read any more about it now unless it’s just a headline on the news as I don’t think it’s healthy to analyse it too much.

I recently had a sudden health scare which was a near miss and a close family member has too and is still seriously ill. I know awful things can happen at any time. It’s very sad what happened to him and maybe even more so as although he was ‘older’ he was fit for his age and a doctor of course. None of us is invincible though.

I feel absolutely furious with him. Quite unreasonably as I don't know him. Why did a medical doctor think it was OK to go for a long walk in 40 degree heat at the height of the day with one very small bottle of water and no phone????
He wasn't young either. He was 67.
Sheer stupidity.
Now his wife is on her own for her whole retirement. He won't see his kids marry or have children.
Older single women as I know very well often get abandoned by their married friends after the husband has gone. It takes time but in couple of years she will be lonely.
The utter stupidity of the whole thing made me feel sick and depressed.

I know exactly what you mean op. I’m in my 60’s and it has hit me really hard even though I only vaguely knew of him.
Unfortunately a friend of mine also died unexpectedly recently and it brings it home how close it might be.
Sorry I have no answers, hope you are okay.

I've recently had a life changing thing happen to me that in some cases means people can die or be left severely disabled .
Yes , anything can happen at any time , but until that ' thing ' happens please don't worry about it as it will marr you living your best life .

I dont get scared about it with death but definitely choices that lead to a miserable life (abusive relationships, bad breaks ups etc).