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They would find him soon. Gradually, like sloshing oil his thoughts settled and the panic was gone.
In Chapter 5, after Brian escapes the plane, he tries to gather his thoughts to assess his situation. He is overwhelmed and feels he has no resources. If he thinks too much about being stranded, he starts to panic. However, he knows he has no chance of survival if he does not keep his wits about him. Panicking cannot help him, and it makes his situation seem impossible. He finds he can use the opposite tactic to his advantage. If Brian consistently tells himself he will be rescued soon, it calms him and motivates him to stay alive until then. At the time, he thinks he will only need to survive for a few days at most, and he believes he can do that much.
The brush made a fair wall, not weathertight but it cut most of the wind off. He hadn’t done so badly at that. Maybe it wasn’t much, but also maybe it was all he had for a home. All right, he thought, so I’ll call it home.
In Chapter 7, Brian begins to think of his shelter as home, almost against his will at first. He catches himself thinking of it as home on the second day and corrects himself to call it “the shelter.” But, one day later, he realizes he needs a place to call home, and so he lets his shelter take on that role. Even though it barely keeps him safe at this point, it helps Brian to have a place he can think of as his own, where he belongs in the vast unknowns of nature.
But it was a mental thing. He had gotten depressed thinking about how they hadn’t found him yet, and when he was busy and had something to do the depression seemed to leave. So there were things to do.
The longer Brian is on his own with no one to rescue him, the easier it is for him to succumb to depression. In Chapter 11, he combats this despair by using his mental energy to solve problems. He adds wood to his fire, stockpiles wood for the future, and keeps his space organized. These routines help keep his mind occupied and prove that he is capable of survival. The more he focuses on his tasks, accomplishments, and the beauty of the place he is stuck in, the better Brian can avoid hopelessness.
I am always hungry but I can do it now, I can get food and I know I can get food and it makes me more. I know what I can do.
As Brian learns how to live in the wild, he starts to rely on his capability. Even when he does not have food and wood stockpiled, he knows how to get them, and he trusts that knowledge. In Chapter 16, as Brian reminisces on all his “first days”—the days when he learns new skills to help him survive—Brian can remind himself that he is not helpless, and that assurance keeps him from feeling overwhelmed by the difficulties he faces. If he focused only on what he lacked, it would be hard for Brian to be motivated to action. However, because he tells himself he is capable, he can get past the large problems and tackle his small, daily needs.
