Some can stride onto an aeroplane as casually as if they’re entering a supermarket, whilst others board every flight convinced that they are about to participate in an unplanned re-enactment of a Discovery Channel disaster documentary. Flying ought to be the single greatest expression of human brilliance. People have built enormous machines that somehow manage to lift hundreds of tons of fuel, luggage, holidaymakers, and their screaming toddlers into the sky and keep them there. It should be magnificent. It should be awe-inspiring. But instead, for millions, it’s absolutely terrifying. And honestly, it’s not hard to see why.

Because the moment you walk onto an aircraft, you are confronted with a rather startling number of reminders that this machine really shouldn’t be in the sky at all. You sit in a chair barely thicker than a digestive biscuit. You hear a collection of noises that sound suspiciously like loose screws, failing hydraulics and an orc sharpening a sword in the cargo bay. A flight attendant demonstrates how to put on a life jacket as if that will help when you’re plummeting into the Bay of Biscay at 600 miles an hour. And then, the worst bit, when the doors close with a heavy thud. That’s when the real sweating starts.

One of life’s great mysteries is that we’re perfectly happy to whizz down a motorway at 80 mph only two short metres from oncoming traffic (also doing 80 mph), often driven by someone who definitely shouldn’t have passed their driving test. Yet, sitting in a seat designed by Airbus somehow feels more dangerous. Logically, flying is outrageously safe. Statistically, safer than standing in your own kitchen peeling onions. But fear doesn’t care about statistics. Fear wants drama, emotion and scenes from Final Destination playing in an endless loop. The biggest culprit is control, or the complete lack of it.

Humans hate being trapped. That’s why we invented windows, convertibles and remote control; so we can press “off ” whenever something annoys us. But an aeroplane? You get on, sit down, buckle up and realise you have absolutely no say in anything that happens next. You can’t leave because you can’t just ask to get off because you’ve changed your mind. You can’t pop outside for fresh air either. You can’t even open a window unless you enjoy being sucked into the stratosphere.

Then, when all the drama of take-off has passed, at 38,000 feet, we can add turbulence into the mix. The entire cabin suddenly turns into a Victorian séance. People gripping armrests, whispering prayers and bargaining with the universe, promising they’ll never drink again if the plane just stops wobbling.

Meanwhile, the pilots are probably having a cup of tea, completely unbothered because turbulence to them is as dramatic as a slightly uneven driveway. But despite all of this, despite the sweaty palms, the pounding heart and the firm belief that every bump will be your last, people still fly. And more importantly, you can overcome the fear. OK. You won’t overcome your fear of flying by pretending that flying is natural, because it’s not.

Birds fly, aeroplanes fly, but humans tend to fall. But you can learn to hack your brain into loosening its grip on the panic button.

1. Understand what turbulence actually is (Hint: It's not impending doom) Pilots describe turbulence the way you or I describe a pothole. Annoying but irrelevant. Aircraft are engineered to withstand forces far beyond anything turbulence can throw at them. Wings don’t just snap off, and planes don’t plummet as Wiley Coyote falls off a cliff. Fear thrives on mystery. Once you understand that turbulence is just air behaving badly, not the aircraft malfunctioning, it becomes far less sinister. It’s like being on a slightly rattly bus, except the view is much better and the final destination isn't Bognor Regis.

2. Meet the real Gods of the sky: The Pilots If you’ve ever seen a pilot at the helm of an aircraft, you’ll notice something. They’re calm. They’re calm to Olympic Gold standard. They could deliver bad news, such as “the left engine has fallen off,” in a soothing tone that would make you think, “Oh, lovely, maybe we’ll get a discount.” Airlines allow passengers to visit the cockpit before a flight on certain routes. It’s worth doing. Because once you’ve seen the sheer level of technology they have in there, including screens, sensors, switches, backup controls, backup for backup controls, you’ll begin to realise your toaster at home is more likely to malfunction than a modern jet airliner.

3. Don’t just fight the Fear, bulldoze it The worst thing you can do is sit there trying to relax. No one relaxes by trying to relax. It’s like trying to fall asleep by chanting “fall asleep” like a monk. The trick is distraction. Watch something funny. Listen to loud music. Read something completely ridiculous. Basically, anything that stops you from analysing every squeak and rattle like a forensic engineer.

4. The booze strategy: Use Sparingly Some people advocate a stiff drink. Something to take the edge off. Fine. But don’t overdo it, because there’s nothing more humiliating than being afraid of flying and being drunk all at once. Your brain will simply combine the two fears and produce a third, which will be the fear of talking absolute drivel to a flight attendant who, by the way, already hates you.

5. Boring your brain into submission The more you fly, the less dramatic it becomes. Frequent flyers aren’t brave; they’re simply bored. Flying, to them, is no more emotionally stimulating than sitting on a sofa. Your brain eventually learns that every flight ends with you on the ground, walking away, thinking, “Actually, that wasn’t so bad,” whilst hoping to God that the immigration gates haven't got 5000 zig-zagging pensioners trying to get through, whilst constantly moaning about their plight. For goodness sake, just shut up!

6. You’re definitely not in charge This is the big one. You can’t control flying. You can’t control gravity. You can’t control wind, air pressure, clouds or the fact that the man next to you has decided to remove his shoes. But that’s the point. You don’t need to. People far more qualified than you are in control. And the more you accept that, the easier every flight becomes.

Flying isn’t scary In life, most things are risky. Crossing the road, eating seafood or even going on a date. But flying, statistically, is one of the least risky things you will ever do. And at the end of it, you get somewhere warm, or interesting, or exotic or at the very least somewhere with cheaper beer than where you started off. So yes, fear of flying is common. It’s logical. It’s understandable. But it’s also manageable. Because, as with most things that terrify us, the anticipation is always far worse than the reality.

Flying isn’t scary. Our imaginations are scary. Aeroplanes are fantastic. And deep down, even the most terrified among us knows this, because we keep getting on them.