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

[Glasto73lover]

It’s that idea of never really knowing what’s going to happen- the idea that we walk such a fine line in life. If you think too much about it, you probably wouldn’t leave the house.!

A close family member died suddenly and tragically a decade ago - literally dropped dead at home age 48 - something went pop in their head. So you genuinely don’t know when your time is up.

It’s that idea of a chain of consequence that can go so horribly wrong too- people always say ‘oh but you could get hit by a bus’ - stuff like this actually makes me really anxious. So many what ifs.

For Michael Moseley - a chain of probably inconsequential decisions may have led to his death- not having a phone on him, choosing to undertake a walk that in the U.K. is nothing but in that heat, was devastating and probably caused his death.

It makes me anxious that I won’t know if I am making those decisions - am I making sense? I think as I have got older, I have become more anxious and risk averse (thanks menopause) and as a result, you could end up not leaving the house. How do you choose a sensible approach? Not too much risk but some!

But I also want to live my life too!! I guess I find incidents like this quite difficult!

I guess always having a phone, not undertaking walks in intense heat in an unfamiliar place etc are the common sense points that will come out of this tragedy.

Aibu to find it anxiety provoking tho?!

I do long distance walks and the os maps app gives you your exact location. It is extremely useful!

MM always came across as such a lovely, enthusiastic man. He helped me enormously, I listened to his podcast every week and had some of his books. There are things I now do daily to help my health that are directly because of him.

I don't feel angry with him, just very sad about how avoidable his death was. He was human though, and sometimes we make bad decisions that we don't even realise are mistakes until we have the benefit of hindsight. So often it isn't one big mistake, it is a series of little mistakes that end in disaster. Not having his phone, not waiting in a cafe for the bus, deciding to take a walk, taking the wrong path and getting lost. I fully believe he went up that mountain feeling fine and if he'd not taken the wrong path he would most likely have made it. It's just tragic, albeit an avoidable tragedy.

MM left a legacy from his work in life, helping people with their health. I find it quite poignant that his death should also leave a legacy teaching people a lesson. I won't go for a walk without my phone for one (which I often did up to now) and I've learned a lot about heat stroke this week.

RIP lovely man.

It wasn't about losing weight. It was about turning around blood results, cutting risk very quickly and in some cases getting ready for surgery. Reducing calories a bit and eating healthy fof someone obese cut mean death, or serious illness before there's a difference. Are you involved in medical research, with a focus on obesity etc?

Has it been proven he died from heat exhaustion?
Natural causes it said in the news.
He might have felt unwell on the beach so decided to walk home and had a heart attack on the way?
That could have happened in any weather.
I’m sure the heat didn’t help, but I’ve not heard anywhere that the heat was the main reason.

You're being unreasonable @Glasto73lover

We all take risks every day- from driving a car to being a pedestrian.

You can mitigate some risks by planning in advance and also reduce the most likely risks to your health through lifestyle.

Beyond that, not a lot.

I don't think MM death is something to cause anxiety. If it's affecting you that way then, seriously, consider therapy.

He made - as you say- a series of choices that weren't altogether sensible. It's sad, but was foreseeable to an extent- walking in heat, not equipped (little water), took wrong path (didn't realise), didn't turn back, no phone.
I am sorry for him and his family, but it appears there was a lack of judgement.

Yep, good old AIBU. Have you just died? Well let’s all pile in to tell you how stupid you are (were)

I think it’s the fact that MM had such a cheery, comforting, ‘everything’s going to be alright’ presence that makes it so hard to take in. I’m surprised by how affected I am … it seems so very unreal. I really liked the man and I’m so sad for him and his family - and yes, it makes you contemplate how fragile life is too. This time last week he was no doubt looking forward to his holiday and now he’s gone.
The thing I’ve found most disturbing and upsetting though is that there are apparently images of his body out there and videos of his last moments. This is beyond horrible for his family and nobody but the relevant authorities should have access to such material. He deserves dignity in death.

Natural causes means there was no foul play.

Heatstroke is a natural cause.

I think you're confused over foul play (criminal behaviour) and the body's response to external conditions.

Even a heart attack provoked by heatstroke would be 'natural causes'.

Dehydration was clearly a factor as he supposedly walked 4 miles (according to reports) with no more than a small bottle of water (500mls?) in heat of 35+C.

This causes confusion and it's possible he fell and hit his head (or passed out) and didn't recover.

YABU to OP.
A whole series of inconsequential decisions could equally likely lead to the most amazingly wonderful future.

My daughter is a control freak, believes that ever outcome can be / should bew the 'correct one'. That seems so exhausting, to try to live that way. I'm trying to teach her that whatever problems will arise, she will find solutions. THAT is the pathway to happier mental health.

Menop has coincided with me becoming a much more glass-half-full, happy-go-lucky, "Appreciate the Now not the fantasy future", &"Problems have Solutions" person than ever. I do all sorts of "risky" activity, too. I would hate folk to assume that me being older female => emotionally battered & cowering afraid to open the front door person... not least because that vision couldn't be further from truth.

Agreed. Anyone can die at any time. I have worked in the NHS for 30y and know that death can come to anyone however fit. He could have taken a huge bottle of water and still died.

The post-death judgement is really unpleasant. Presume those posters are going to live forever?

Yep. And now to make a stranger’s death all about you.

@Savemydrink energy companies have been able to cut your gas and electric at any point even if you’ve no smart meter. They can even - shock, horror - go to court and gain a court order to forcibly remove your prepayment meter and install a pay as you go meter. Smart meters just mean they no longer have to bust down doors to enforce the order. You should really look into educating yourself before making a tit of yourself on a public forum.

On the face of it, his choices seem unwise and inexplicable. I am loathe to judge harshly though because I'm a solitary walker and have occasionally made choices I would not make again (although walking over unfamiliar hills in 40 degree heat on my tod probably wouldn't be one of them).

But no-one actually knows what route he took or what led to that decision. It's all speculation. Maybe he actually was walking on the designated path and something happened to cause him to stray off it.

I was doing a hill walk once with friends, we were all on the designated path and something happened which led us to leave it. In this case, we spotted a sheep stuck in a wire fence further down the hill by the cliff's edge and went down to free it. Then rejoined the original path. But if by some terrible happenstance, that part of the cliff had somehow broken off (!) when we were all standing on it, I daresay the people recovering our bodies later on might have scratched their heads and said, "What were they all doing down here when the path is higher up??" Well, we were rescuing a sheep.

For all anyone knows, MM could have left the designated path (for unknown reasons) at some point adjacent to the fence then decided it would be quicker to skirt round the perimeter of the fence than pick one's way back to the original path. Who knows?

Such a pity the restaurant didn't check their CCTV earlier but even if they had, it seems that he died pretty quickly after the misadventure started and would likely have been too late by that point anyway.

Anyone can die - but you can take steps to reduce the chances of getting into trouble to reduce that chances.

I like to go hill walking. When I go hill walking, I carry the right gear for the potential conditions. Plus a map, compass and phone. And food. And waterproofs. And emergency shelter. Be prepared for the conditions. I meet people who don't have such things - and most of the time, it's fine. They don't need them. But if conditions change, I have taken steps to reduce the risk to myself. It does not make me immune. But I have taken steps to reduce the impact if something happens.

I suppose it's to what degree do you take steps to reduce the impact of the potential conditions on yourself.

Anyone can die. You don't have to stop doing stuff. But you can take steps to reduce the risk to yourself when you do stuff to a level that you think is acceptable.

@Glasto73lover I haven't read the whole thread, so apologies if this point has already been made, but I think that if you're a restless, active person who is used to being busy, then going on holiday to a majestic but barren Greek island where there is nothing to do but try to keep cool in 40 degree heat, is not a good choice. I imagine he was simply a bit bored and finding it difficult to occupy himself. I also imagine that leaving his phone at home was a deliberate but ultimately unfortunate 'mental health' decision. Of course, there may have been no signal anyway.

I am in my fifties and a consultant psychiatrist. I think our society is one of the most mentally sick it has ever been.

And that’s partly due to the overthinking, the hypervigilance, the prepping, the tracking, and the idea that we can control every single thing in our lives. Looking for someone to blame for every negative thing that happens, either ourselves or others. I am not advocating passivity but the ability to accept that some bad stuff happens is really important.

Are you really on a public forum implying that Dr Mosely’s wife is not a ‘decent’ person, and that he was ‘utterly stupid’ and ‘dumb’?

Two days after his body was found?

Sometime we think things and realise it would be best if we don’t say them out loud. I think perhaps this was one of those times.

See, we all make poor choices sometimes- even you.

And unless you were there on the island with the Moseleys, or are the coroner, you don’t actually know what happened.

It just illustrates the importance of doing risky activities at least in pairs o r as a small group.

Very sad. He was a lovely upbeat popular and very fit man. Wholly pre ventable.

Yes and maybe he did just that. Maybe he would have had a heart attack that day anyway. All this armchair analysis by internet randoms is really distasteful.

It doesn’t make me anxious because we have life insurance.

Yes it would be really really shit if me or DH suddenly died. But we have planned for it as best we can. We have wills, life insurance policies, pensions that will pay out to the other person. And sudden unexpected death is the reason for having these things in place.

This is an unpleasant thread.

His time was up. It's as simple as that. Pretty ignorant to blame him for his own passing.

Stop overthinking and get on with your life. People die peacefully, unexpectedly in their sleep all the the time. Even if they have their phones with them, they can't change that.

You can't change the inevitable. Just live your life sensibly but without overthinking it all.

Some the earlier posts on this thread are horrible. Condemning MM for being stupid.

MM made a couple of wrong decisions, maybe due to the heat and lack of hydration - or simply being human (who know's - maybe he had a rubbish sense of direction?).

Empathy would be nicer for his family. I am not sure they would appreciate people being angry at him on their behalf.

I hate to point it out but most of us when we go will probably have contributed to our deaths in some way. Ill health is usually due to unwise and/or willfully poor choices. And a lot of accidents aren't purely random bad luck. Fuck knows i could have caused my own demise (and others!) through "stupid" actions.

There are very much shades of the moral superiority shows by Jacob Rees Mogg about Grenfeld (he'd have had "more common sense" than those that died).

Wholly pre ventable.

Who do you think you are to say that with such authority? He could have had a heart attack whilst sunbathing with his wife. He could have done that walk and not died. You don’t know enough about the case to have a credible opinion.

well said @Abstractthinking

Was it an aneurysm your relative had? I have one but they found it and stabilised it before it ruptured, thank goodness. My nan also had one undetected and hers ruptured as she got out of bed one morning, so like your loved one, she just died there and then.

What happened to Dr Moseley is very sad and I would think, uncommon? It's best not to let these things take up too much of your head space if you're predisposed to anxiety.

I learnt that the hard way after keeping up with the panicked threads about Putin when it all kicked off in Ukraine. I was a nervous wreck.

There never seems to be much good news these days as fear and misery sells doesn't it? Take a break from the news is my advice.