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?!

There is an element of futility about it all. So much thought and care for his own and other people’s health and wellbeing. So much. And yet he went

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

I’m careful about nutrition and health - no doubt partly in response to ideas he promulgated, but there must be people walking around thinking that if he’d lived on burgers and chips and not been rich enough for a lovely holiday … he might have lived to be 100. (This is an observation about life, rather than specifically about him. I’m always faintly astonished when people demonstrably more materially fortunate than me leave life behind while I’m still here.)

I’m sad for him as well as his family - and I understand what you’re saying, @Glasto73lover.

🤷‍♀️

Agreed

I’m finding all the coverage, and particularly videos, really quite awful. Apparently there is one at the end of his ‘walk’. I can’t believe this is being shown as I don’t want to see what led up to a man’s death and it must be dreadful for his family . I do agree with posters being baffled at his decision to walk in the middle of the day in such high temperatures but it was possible the heat was already affecting his judgement.

I just feel so sad about it, I heard of another shocking death of a friend of a friend recently and with that and MM I’d go nuts just thinking about the “if only”s x

If something horrible happens to you, you won't think 'oh thank goodness I spent so long being anxious about this'

How do you choose a sensible approach?

I live as carefully as I can, I don't take unnecessary risks, and I just let any worry go. I'm going to die, and there's not a fucking thing I can do about it. Maybe today, maybe in 30 years, don't know, refuse to care. I will not allow the fear of dying and death to take away from living my life and enjoying what I can right now.

I completely agree. I mean a medial doctor? What on earth was he thinking?

You have to remember that things like this don’t happen to most people most of the time. In fact, when you think of all the myriad things that could go massively wrong, most of the time they don’t. Most of the time, either there are no consequences, or they become a dramatic story about a near miss. That’s almost the worst thing about this case- it was so nearly ok. He was about 90 seconds away from safety.

By a doctor too!

It’s a bit strange to be ‘furious’ with him. We don’t know him. It seems perhaps he got lost. It’s just very very sad and unfortunate. It is not an everyday occurrence OP so there is no need for anxiety. Most people would not choose to walk in such heat because they’d be much too hot! MM seems to have had a very adventurous personality. I feel sorry however for outdoor workers in places like Italy and Greece during heatwaves whose health is at severe risk from such heat. At least one died last year in Italy.

There is a middle ground, which I'm sure is the path you would take. Go out early or in the evening in hot weather, take adequate water, dress appropriately in light coloured clothing that covers your neck and arms, wear a wide brimmed hat, tell someone where you are going.

One thing is certain in life, we're all going to die. No point fretting about it, no one knows when .

Jesus, some of the responses on here are harsh.

Didn't the poor man get lost??

My DH is the same. He’s 60 and loves going out running when we’re on holiday. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Because he’s really fit and eats a clean diet, he completely ignores the fact that he’s bloody 60. He genuinely believes he has the same body as a 30 year old. It wouldn’t surprise me if MM also had the same ridiculous invincible attitude. Beetroot juice will only take you so far, but it can’t reverse the aging process!

Absolutely.

Agree. And yes that’s what I thought.

Bloody hell you lot, nobody yet knows the circumstances of how MM died & we might never do. How self righteous of you all to determine his stupidity.
I'm not one for waving the 'have some taste' banner at all but seriously, you lot need to wind your necks in.

FWIW, OP, I get you....'there but for the grace of god', eh? Getting older & experiencing people in your peer group dying really does sometimes make you think 'what if I'm next?'

No. In 150 years, everyone on the planet right now will will be dead.

I'm absolutely awful at imagining the worse before anything happens.. especially concerning my family.
It's got worse lately but I'm now seeing a psychiatrist.. I'm doing a 20 week therapy course.

Tbh, it makes me think, 'well he might as well have treated himself to a few extra chocolate bars'!

We have limited control over our lives, even with all the self restraint in the world.

Exactly. Personally, if I had to choose I'd rather die like he did, youngish, swiftly, having enjoyed good health and fitness right until the end, doing something I love. The death I fear is the long, miserable, drawn out one that I can see coming for months or years.

I have previously dealt with this type of anxiety by leaning into and exploring the fear (stoic philosophy is great for this)and fully accepting I will die and I don't know when it will be but until that point I will be alive and should enjoy it. I take reasonable precautions, healthy eating etc but have found the acceptance liberating.

I suspect menopause hasn’t helped with ‘catastrophising’ in my thinking either!

I think there needs to be more awareness of the risks of vigorous or extreme exercise particularly in men over 40 and of course the risk of heat stroke. No doubt if Dr Mosley had lived he would have written about the episode.

I think a lot of people have been upset (or angry) about the futility of it. He seemed to really be in the prime of life, doing work he enjoyed (and was good at) and seems to have been universally liked by all who knew him. Sometimes deaths just really hit you, even if you don't know the deceased personally. And clearly it is nothing compared to what his poor family and friends are going through.

It doesn't make me anxious per se but...sad. And very conscious of how the line between life and death can sometimes be so thin.