Mike Thalassitis DEAD

[Rita]

The Love Island contestant was found dead in woods near his home. Only 26 years old.

 

[octophone]

Jeez. I don't watch the programme but that's seriously grim.

 

[Rita]

Yes, it is terribly tragic. I am assuming it was suicide.

 

[D5K]

Yes, it is terribly tragic. I am assuming it was suicide.

Sheridan Smith has said ""This should be a massive wake up call. I feel sick, reach out, sometimes to the most confident friend. We can only learn & try to change." so I assume so.

I always find it strange that the press always skirt around the issue of suicide - if mental health problems are becoming less of a taboo then surely they should be a bit more honest?

 

[Rita]

Sheridan Smith has said ""This should be a massive wake up call. I feel sick, reach out, sometimes to the most confident friend. We can only learn & try to change." so I assume so.

I always find it strange that the press always skirt around the issue of suicide - if mental health problems are becoming less of a taboo then surely they should be a bit more honest?

I agree whole heartedly. Suicide seems to be touching more and more people and I assume that is all down to the fact that mental health is clearly an epidemic. When someone tries to commit suicide unsuccessfully then they speak to a psychologist who asks if they are going to do it again. How easy is it to LIE? All too easy,unfortunately. You are then sent on your merry way with every chance you will try again.

 

[Halli]

Shocked by this!
The second Love Island suicide, if It was that, after Sophie

 

[Rita]

Shocked by this!
The second Love Island suicide, if It was that, after Sophie

It has been reported as suicide.

 

[Commotion]

There are specific guidelines meant to be followed when reporting on suicide which I think informs the reporting. They are in place to prevent further grief to the friends and families, but also to ensure that it doesn't encourage others to kill themselves.

 

[Halli]

Plus I would have thought they can't say too much until there is some kind of inquest apart from they think it's 'non suspicious'

There really is a mental health epidemic at the moment, especially with young people - the services just can't cope with the demand, and I think the whole 'Instagram generation' adds to it all.

 

[lolly]

Believe me, the referrals I've made that get rejected because 'they don't meet the threshold'. Or that get closed because the person isn't engaging with the service - which in itself is symptomatic of their mental health in the first place.

 

[Halli]

Believe me, the referrals I've made that get rejected because 'they don't meet the threshold'. Or that get closed because the person isn't engaging with the service - which in itself of their mental health in the first place.

Oh yes, daily occurrence for me. Sometimes it's who you know in the service you are referring to as well, whether someone can get fast tracked or suddently meets threshold

 

[Rita]

The pattern I have found is relationship, and money issues. The macho male struggles to talk about little if any problems and would rather bottle it up than seek help. As long as that mentality continues then it will always be really hard to pinpoint who is actually having mental issues.

 

[Halli]

Didn't he break up with Megan McKenna a while back. I know she was on Celebs Dating last week literally breaking down about the split.

 

[Rita]

Didn't he break up with Megan McKenna a while back. I know she was on Celebs Dating last week literally breaking down about the split.

Yes he did. His Nan passed away a few days ago who he had moved in with to become her full time career.

 

[Halli]

If Megan isn't in the studio recording a heart felt CUNTRY BALLID in the next couple of weeks I want to know WHY NOT

 

[cwej]

I know nothing of this man, but for a 26-year-old confident, good-looking guy like that to kill himself, really does send that clear message that we never know what's going on inside someone else's head. Sad.

 

[Halli]

Nadia Essex's reaction was just...well..

 

[Slave]

I do think we need to re-think the way we report on these stories.

Once people do engage with mental health services, pne of the biggest fears for non-mental health trained nurses was normally "I don't want to put the idea in their head" - but we were often told to dismiss that notion, because if you're talking mental health, you need to be honest and if people feel suicidal then the thought is already there; you can't put it there.

So yeah, we don't want to talk explicitly about what happened (but we don't do that with any death), but if we just skirt around the issue and HINT, how is that ever going to facilitate people being able to open up and talk in real terms about their thoughts.

 

[cwej]

Agreed. It should 100% be reported as suicide. I think it could only HELP someone thinking about suicide to know that other people are feeling that way too.

Having said that, we all KNOW anyway. People aren't that fucking stupid.

 

[octophone]

My experience has been that everyone is great with the fluffy bunny "mental health" stuff i.e. feeling a bit stressed? Say to a pal and then go for a walk in the forest".

As soon as you demonstrate symptoms of yr actual depression or an anxiety disorder, a lot of people are OUT. I have especially seen this at work recently. It's all "how can we support you?" until you actually crack in the middle of an anxiety attack and then they bring out the disciplinary procedures. It's lip service. And that makes it worse; when you realise all that stuff was just a mask they're forced to wear to look the part they have to play.

 

[Rita]

It seems to be getting confirmed by most rags that he was found hanging in a park.

 

[Kala]

@Rita, as our resident Love Island expert you'd be able to tell us this, but I read that both of those who committed suicide were built up as villains on the show? That is quite concerning.

Some of the former contestants have been quoted as saying there is next to no support for them once they leave the show. It can't be easy for them to be a nobody one day and then thrust immediately into the limelight, and it's quite a unique show with the set up. I've overheard conversations between girls who watch it slating the contestants, it all seems pretty negative overall. One suicide is bad enough but for this to have happened a second time, ITV are going to have some explaining to do. Can Love Island come back after this?

 

[lolly]

Have there been any criticisms of the show so far in that respect?

 

[Kala]

Have there been any criticisms of the show so far in that respect?

Just from former contestants, Malin Andersson was one who say that they get support from ITV until the show is over, and then nothing. I'm not sure exactly WHAT ITV can do though, they can't be expected to give them continued mental health support for an unlimited time. I don't think these young people realise what they are signing up for half the time.

Also, Megan McKenna (his ex) has been getting nasty tweets because she hasn't posted anything about his death yet, calling her a 'cold hearted witch' and a 'complete bitch' and the likes. I do think that social media trolling like this also contributes to the state of people's mental health, it's why I don't use Twitter - I find it utterly abhorrent and full of trolls and idiots and people spreading negativity. If someone already has a low perception of themselves then seeing nasty tweets and messages can only help to make things worse.

 

[lolly]

The whole 'you have to be seen to be grieving' culture is abhorrent, but it is an inevitable feature of the age of social media. Nothing exists unless it's out there for wankers whose opinions don't matter to comment on.

 

[Slave]

The difficulty is, we KNOW that lack of ongoing support for reality TV contestants is poor across the board. And it's absolutely not a surprise that people are piping up and saying that they were essentially dumped from the show and left with nothing.

I'm not REALLY sure what you can do about that. These shows churn out series' at an alarming pace - can ITV really be culpable for providing one-to-one psychological support indefinitely following the end of the show? What we really need to look at is what these people are going through and focusing on the root cause. Blaming ITV feels a bit unfair - what is it about the process of competing in these shows that is affecting people so badly?

Oh, sorry @Kalabaliken - you basically said the same thing.

 

[octophone]

One suicide is bad enough but for this to have happened a second time, ITV are going to have some explaining to do.

I agree entirely. Television has long taken people from anonymity to fame and then left them to it after the show was over but the culture, especially online, is now far too toxic for an approach that was troubling to start with.

 

[Kala]

I've only seen bits of Love Island but it seems pretty much set up for people to be hate figures with the constant switching of partners etc, unless you're one of the chosen ones like that Danny Dyer's daughter. Overall it seems like quite a negative show, from an outsider's perspective, setting people up for arguments, bitch fights, stealing partners etc. They're setting people up to be hate figures and have negative comments thrown at them online.

Reality TV shows have been around for years though, but we didn't have the social media lifestyle back when it was at its pinnacle as we do today - I dread to think what would have happened during Shilpagate if it had been around now. There must be something that has changed in society for things like this to happen now. Is it because of social media? A shifting change in attitudes?

More ex Love Island contestants are coming out now and criticising ITV for their 'lack of care' after the show ended. I think what they need to do is make people aware of issues that may occur afterwards.

 

[Rita]

As far as I am aware psychological tests are and always have been done before anyone is allowed to take part in any of these shows. The after care is something I know very little about other than the fact that they are not allowed to go back to the “real world” in that they stay in hotels etc until the series is complete. I am very much in two minds about this as hate figures have been rife going back to the very first series of Big Brother in that contestants have been crucified, and edited in a certain way to make good tv. Surely people know what they are getting themselves into? It is not like reality tv was created during the social media furore when it would have came across as utterly shocking the way people treat certain individuals with such contempt.

 

[Rita]

@Rita, as our resident Love Island expert you'd be able to tell us this, but I read that both of those who committed suicide were built up as villains on the show? That is quite concerning.

Some of the former contestants have been quoted as saying there is next to no support for them once they leave the show. It can't be easy for them to be a nobody one day and then thrust immediately into the limelight, and it's quite a unique show with the set up. I've overheard conversations between girls who watch it slating the contestants, it all seems pretty negative overall. One suicide is bad enough but for this to have happened a second time, ITV are going to have some explaining to do. Can Love Island come back after this?

Mike was seen as a snake in that he came in late and went in to try and split up a formed couple. Sophie not so much so, she was in the show from the first day and seemed to create a bond with another guy in the villa but seemed more promiscuous rather than painted as a villain. From memory she left the show of her own accord rather than getting voted out as she had tried to form a relationship with countless men (and a woman) to no avail.

Love Island certainly can and will come back from this.

 

[lolly]

I'm not sure 'people must know what they are letting themselves in for' is much of a defence really - or at least not with the way the show is edited or the way stories are forced. That's not to say that the players themselves don't have responsibility, but that producers must accept a degree of culpability.

And you're right about villains in reality TV from the beginning, but I'm wondering what the likes of Michelle Bass (for example) would have had to endure had Twitter had been around then.

Love Island absolutely will survive this, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some changes in it.

 

[Rita]

I'm not sure 'people must know what they are letting themselves in for' is much of a defence really - or at least not with the way the show is edited or the way stories are forced. That's not to say that the players themselves don't have responsibility, but that producers must accept a degree of culpability.

And you're right about villains in reality TV from the beginning, but I'm wondering what the likes of Michelle Bass (for example) would have had to endure had Twitter had been around then.

Love Island absolutely will survive this, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some changes in it.

People who enter these shows are not walking in blind in this day and age. I am not saying that they deserve all or any of the bile thrown at them in some cases, but the majority of people who enter to go on to these shows are not entering to find love. They are entering to make a better life for themselves by propelling themselves in to the public eye. This is the culture we live in.

 

[Rita]

I must also say that Mike went on to Celebs Go Dating after Love Island and lived up to his ‘Muggy Mike’ name as he was making a good living out of it.

 

[GNL]

Public figures face a load of negativity and nastiness across the board these days, and I imagine that's hard to deal with. It's got to be especially difficult when you're famous for being yourself - or a version of it. You can't think 'well, they don't like my character in the show/my songs etc', it's just 'they don't like me, and here's a constantly updated feed of reasons why'.

 

[lolly]

I must also say that Mike went on to Celebs Go Dating after Love Island and lived up to his ‘Muggy Mike’ name as he was making a good living out of it.

Well of course he did - that's the circuit. But its also why the production companies are complicit in the creation of the characters they make.