A 23-year-old girl is seeking hypnotherapy treatment after suffering from years of phobia of Michael Jackson after seeing the King of Pop’s iconic Thriller song as a child. Poppy Johnson said she felt “absolutely petrified” when she saw the video on TV one day, at the age of five, Metro UK reported.
She said that the mere mention of Michael Jackson or one of his songs would cause her anxiety. “I never really spoke about it or told many people,” Poppy said.
“I worried they’d think I was silly, or struggle to understand how I could possibly have a phobia of Michael Jackson. But now, opening up has given me the courage to go and see a hypnotherapist. I’ve had four sessions so far, and I can already feel that fear lifting,” she said.
Johnson said she was haunted by the scary scenes in Thriller, especially the one where Michael Jackson’s face transforms into a werewolf’s.
“From then on, I’d get flashbacks to that bit in particular if ever I saw him on TV or in magazines or newspapers – or even if I heard one of his songs,” Poppy said.
Since her parents were big fans of Jackson, there were posters, mugs and other memorabilia of the pop-star around the house. But Poppy never told them about her phobia. She said she would get physical symptoms like sweating and shaking and even seeing Jackson without the Thriller costume would bring back all the fear.
The girl had to abandon the internet when the singer died 2009 and hit the headlines again this year amid Channel 4’s controversial Leaving Neverland documentary.
Poppy finally booked an appointment with top London hypnotherapist Aaron Surtees after reading about him online.
She has so far had four sessions with Aaron, and says she is already noticing a difference. “If I hear songs now, I can feel myself getting gradually calmer,” Poppy said. “I see a difference every time. People have been really nice and supportive since I told them,” she added.
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