Woman, 67, Quit Traveling by Plane for 17 Years Due to a Phobia. She’s Overcome Her Fear by Listening to BTS Music Mid-Flight

A woman overcame her fear of flying thanks to BTS.

Debbie Adamson’s phobia tied to air travel began years ago when she flew for the first time during what she described as the “world’s worst flight” from Budapest. At the time, she was a student who was left “terrified” that every airplane she traveled by would crash, according to Kennedy News & Media.

Years later, in 2006, Adamson’s travel fears had not eased at all, so she tried to sabotage a trip to Orlando, Fla., with her “theme park addict” husband and their three kids by purposely hiding her passport in a magazine at the airport. However, staff printed her another ticket so she could still fly, and Adamson, 67, said she was left “crying solid” for three hours.

Two years later in 2008, Adamson, from Southampton, Hampshire, said she “couldn’t” handle her flight fears — known as aerophobia — any longer, so she quit flying for 17 years.

Last year, things changed when Adamson learned more about planes and how they work from a friend employed as a pilot. Easing her fears a bit, she joined a Facebook support group, and the mom of three decided she wanted to overcome her phobia and book a trip to Santorini in Greece to celebrate her 40th wedding anniversary with her husband.

As a test run, she and her family first went back to Orlando. During that flight, Adamson said she “didn’t bat an eyelid,” even during turbulence, thanks to a discovery she made: listening to her favourite boy band, BTS, helped calm her sensory overload.

“I made a bulletproof playlist, every single track I love, so that I knew I’d keep listening,” Adamson said, referencing music from the K-pop band, composed of members RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook.

“I shut my eyes during take-off, and I also held on very tightly too. Once I did that, I began to rationalize it. It just proved to myself that I gave myself permission not to be frightened anymore, so I wasn’t. All the pressure was put on me by my own mind,” she further explained.

Looking back at her past travel experiences, Adamson said, “When I had to fly during this terrified period, I would tell the flight attendant [about my phobia] when I went through the door, if I wasn’t [already] crying. My husband used to come off every flight with permanent arthritis in his hands where I’d be holding onto him so tightly.”

“I can’t explain it, you just can’t control it. It’s just abject terror,” she continued. “Even the slightest hint of turbulence, I’d be crying again. I never ate or drank, [but] I came off flights feeling quite unwell. It was really quite bad.”

Now, Adamson hopes her story will inspire others. “I’d never say I’m cured, but I have that self-awareness to think, … ‘I’m going to give myself permission to not be frightened,’ “ she said.

“It wasn’t anything to be ashamed of, I couldn’t help it. But what I hadn’t done was to allow my mind the freedom to find out about this and be a bit more logical about it,” continued Adamson, who added that she is looking to book more trips in the near future.