Mike Thalassitis - Love Island

[JustBeenNosey]

I'm genuinely shocked to hear about Mike from Love Island been found dead..

It just goes to show that no amount of money and/or fame will make you happy.

I've read ( I don't know how much of this is true though) that he lost his friend on Christmas Eve and his Nan a few days ago who he cared for. I've also read that he was in debt.. again, whether this is true or not.

I just feel like sometimes you're not heard, or cared about or given support until it's too late and until you've actually gone through with it.

I don't know why I'm posting this to be honest. I've been feeling quite low the past few days and then seeing the news about Mike this morning has really just, kind of upset me a bit I suppose.

@BartonHollow it's disgusting how they're treat after the show. They need to provide proper support and aftercare after these two suicides now.

@JustBeenNosey What a truly kind and caring offer - we need more people like you. Your kindness to stangers has made me well up.

Well I certainly am guilty of making the assumption that Mike would have been fine purely because he was so good looking, popular, talented, had a close family etc etc - many of the things we associate with happiness. And yet he obvs is just a human being like the rest of us and we all struggle with something. I thought the way he killed himself was particularly grim too OP, and also Keith Flint. The method they used to me just feels particularly brutal and desperate - some planning had gone into it which shows they had these thoughts for a while. I don't like to think of anyone feeling so alone, no matter who they are. He had so much to live for still but just couldn't see it. Just 26... 😔

@RisingLikeAPhoenix thank you! I just feel that I know how horrible it is when you are feeling so low and I know even though you feel so shit and so down that you don't want to talk people and you wanna stay in your room and turn off your phone.. them little chats that you actually have with people can make a whole lot of difference.

@FookMeFookYou yeah me too. Id never have thought he would be one to do this but then again, who would we 'expect' to do this?
Oh was Keith Flint the same way?
That's how the girl I know had tried, 3 times. And was told she wasn't an urgent case.

Sometimes I feel this can almost be a cry for help in some circumstances and they want to be found and they want someone to stop them but then again on the other hand, it is one of the worse ways to go.. if there even is a scale on ways to commit suicide.

I don't really know why I felt so sad when I read this on the news a shirt while ago. Maybe because it's because I'm currently in therapy for depression and anxiety but I think mainly because I have two sons and a daughter alsonot coping brilliantly with their mental health, and that scares me but saddens me too,how hard it is for our young people now.

love island can't be blamed

its so sad about mike though. a lot going in his life, too much it seems

The problem is, you can ‘be there’ for people as much as you like, but if a person feels that bad and wants to do it, they will. Very few people are ‘saved’ by others-it has to come from within. And I say that as someone who has been that depressed previously. I agree these sorts of programmes must surely be in their final commissions?! I often think we will look back on the likes of Geordie shore and be utterly horrified that we watched people essentially poisoning themselves and watching the results.

@RunAndBeeHappy I know Love Island can't be blamed but they could have obviously done a lot more to support both Mike and Sophie.
The support they get after the show is non existent by the sounds of it.

@QuirkyQuark I know I think in this day and age, it is hard for anyone who is suffering with their mental health, young or old. I just feel like a whole lot more could be done.
We have Mental Health First Aiders at work, we also have something called 'Carefirst' who we can call about any problems and they have counsellors available to speak to over the phone and you can always get counselling sessions face to face.
I feel like this is something all companies should offer to people. Work is a massive part of your life and if you're not happy at work or dealing with work very well, it can have a big impact on your life

I've also found this sad. I know they haven't released his cause of death and I think they're unlikely to either given the circumstances.

I remember watching the after show and they showed some clips of Mike we hadn't seen before, and he came across as a really funny guy. However ITV edited it so badly that we only ever saw the 'muggy Mike' stuff. It's really wrong!

JustBeenNosey I'm a mental health first aider and I know a few others who've done the training. It's worthwhile doing it if anyone is interested.

@Haggisfish I completely understand that. I've tried to be there for my friend lately but I don't think they're ready. There's nothing I can say or do that seems to help them get out of the place they're in at the moment.

I wasnt ready to be helped I don't think until I actually went to hospital from self harming.. I think that made me realise that I do need help and I needed to take the first steps by going back to the doctors, going back on tablets and arranging to start seeing counsellors. Unfortunately it's a lengthy, long process which is why people feel like their being failed because there is such a high demand for mental health services, and people are having to wait months to even have an initial assessment

my dd is close friends with one of the girls from the year before Mike,they do get support. its there if they need it but if its not requested or used not much can be done

they all go on to use management agencies. the support is there. if wanted. dd friend has needed it lately and has been overwhelmed with the responses to her issues

young men don't like to seek help, thats the problem, not love island

Apparently the suicide rate is higher in males than females. I believe this is due to females often opting for the overdose route which means they are often found and stomachs pumped, whereas men often use the hanging method and therefore more 'successful' (awful use of the word). I found that statistic incredibly tragic and sad.

Do you think there’s anything in the fact that that’s how Keith Flint did it only last week and now Mike? By the same method.

A girl we knew did it that way in full view of her house and I think she was hoping someone would see her, run out and stop it.

@Willisleepeighthoursagain yes! I've watched a lot of these reality programmes and afterwards when people have watched it back themselves, they have said that it has all been edited to come across a certain way or to make someone out to be something they're not. Not just with Love Island but with other shows as well such as Big Brother.

@QuirkyQuark my best friend did it through work as well and she actually ended up finding out she has a trait of OCD which she didn't know about.
She loves it and she found the training really, really eye opening.
She told me on the first day, they did an 'ice breaker' or 'test' and they had to write down on a piece of paper who they thought suffered with their mental health, after an hour of meeting everyone else. Nobody said they thought my friend suffered and on the final day of the training when she told people she does, they were all surprised. It goes to show that people can hide things so well.
When I'm on the ball, I can tell every Tom, Dick and Harry I'm fine and I'm okay and I'm doing well, but can go home and self harm.

Some people are good at putting a front on unfortunately which can be a bad thing to do!

@Willisleepeighthoursagain that’s awful. I don’t know why it just makes me even sadder to think of someone walking out to woodland with that on their mind.

Someone said on insta earlier that when they come from the reality shows they get loads of work that year. Then the next batch go in and they are forgotten has beens who have become accustomed to the celeb life style and they can't maintain it. They put load sof pressure on themselves to look and be a certain way and it's just not maintainable.
I don't think it's love island's fault. I thjbk people go into these shows knowing what they want on the other side ~fame, fortune and money. I just think some people can't handle all that comes with it.
Rip mike

@RunAndBeeHappy yeah I completely get that they're not going to push it on to people but surely they have a duty of care, like mine or your workplace has?

At the end of the day, it is a job, they're getting paid for it aren't they.

@Willisleepeighthoursagain yeah possibly. I think women will think about it more whereas men could be quite rational and not think about it which could be why? 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Mydressinggownismybestfriend yeah there could be. I don't know whether doing it in a public place like a park for example would be a cry for help.. I can't quite get my head around it. I think because I've never felt like that or being on that frame of mind, I won't understand

yes, my dd friend confirms its all highly edited with 'scenes' being re played until they are satisfied

the arguments aren't staged though,im told the anger is all real!!

duty of care lasts whilst employed by them, yes. but he left love island 2 years ago....no idea where he recently worked

@ballsdeep it's got to be hard though. Imagine going into a villa as a plain Jane, maybe good looking and gets attention but that's it.

Then having your time watched by millions of people and been tore apart on SM.

Then coming out of the villa as a household name, not being able to walk down the street without being noticed, being judged..
The have this front that they have to keep up that they live the 'perfect' life, they have all this money, all they need to do is drink and do PA's and life's a dream.

it must be absolutely awful!

I wouldn't be to handle the 'fame' that comes with it all.

he was semi famous before love island through football

I agree, neither would I. But I do think we are years and years ibto reality shows now. No one goes in there thinking they won't be recognised or 'famous' when they come out. That's my pint, that's what they go in there for. I'm not disputing it is hard when they come out, but they all know what it's about.

@ballsdeep yeah I get what you mean. It's not a 'new thing' is it

Yes Just the training can be really eye opening, it's tough going but ultimately worthwhile not just to support others but for yourself.

I've been on and off ADs since my early 20's but I still learned stuff doing the course. Especially due to me being older in my 50's it was helpful to get an understanding of what the pressures are for today's young.