You’ve been journaling consistently. Maybe you’ve even had a few encouraging nights of sleep. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, your insomnia explodes. You’re awake all night, your mind races, and panic returns with a vengeance. Most people assume this means recovery has failed. But what if it means the opposite?
Insomnia recovery is rarely immediate and it seldom turns around instantaneously. Instead, recovery typically happens in a series of small shifts. It involves a process that is full of ups-and-downs, speedbumps, small and big successes. One distinct experience that many recoverees from long-time insomnia mention frequently is a phenomenon called the “extinction burst.”
The term “extinction burst” refers to a temporary worsening of an unwanted behavior when a habit begins to rewire. The term was coined by psychologist B.F. Skinner in the 1930’s when he was running an experiment where rats were trained to press a lever to receive a food pellet. When the food suddenly stopped appearing, the rats didn’t immediately give up. Instead, they pressed the lever faster and more frantically than ever before. This temporary, frantic spike in behavior is a predictable phase of the “extinction” process. Basically, when the brain rewires to unlearn behaviors, symptoms get worse before they get better.
How the Extinction Burst Relates to Chronic Insomnia Recovery
The same principle Skinner observed in his lab applies to recovery from chronic insomnia. For many people with chronic insomnia, unresolved emotions, internal pressures, and subconscious fears can play a significant role in keeping the nervous system activated. Insomnia acts as a protective shield that guards us from confronting these subconscious thought patterns and tendencies. Many of these emotions, such as rage, terror, grief, or shame, may be deemed “unacceptable” by the conscious mind, and thus, pushed down. One way to release such buried emotions is through therapeutic writing or journaling. Journaling is a way to release emotional steam, or similarly, a way to ladle off emotional pressure that keeps the nervous system revved up and hyperaroused.
As you consistently journal, many of these repressed emotions will be brought to the surface, effectively showing your subconscious that the truth is not dangerous, and there is no longer a need for protective insomnia. Hence, your ego’s primary defense mechanism—insomnia—is out of a job. When you begin responding differently to insomnia and processing emotions that were previously avoided, the brain often interprets this change as a threat. The extinction burst is its attempt to pull you back toward familiar patterns.
Instead of your sleep immediately getting better, your insomnia will often violently worsen for a few nights. You might experience severe night-time racing thoughts, nocturnal jolts, or a total inability to sleep at all. While this phase of recovery can be very uncomfortable and frustrating, it is very normal. The brain is frantically pressing the “insomnia lever” harder and louder, trying to terrify you back into focusing on your lack of sleep so you will stop looking at your deeper emotional truths.
Navigating the Bursts for Full Insomnia Recovery
Effectively navigating extinction bursts are a crucial part of insomnia recovery. Experiencing a “burst” in symptoms is very uncomfortable, frustrating, and can feel debilitating. During this phase, many people are convinced that whatever they are doing is making things worse and they abandon their treatment. Just knowing that the extinction burst is a “thing”, that it exists, that it is not a sign of failure, rather a sign of moving forward, is helpful during this phase.
| If your brain does this (the burst)…. | …Respond with This |
| Floods you with 3:00 a.m. panic about being awake. | Acknowledge the trick. Remind yourself that this is normal and is your subconscious’ way of stopping you from confronting your uncomfortable emotional truths. |
| Causes your sleep symptoms to peak or get worse | Try not to fight sleeplessness. Remind yourself that this is a normal part of recovery and it is safe to be awake. |
| Demands you to stop journaling because “it isn’t working” | Stay consistent. The thrashing of the symptoms means the old coping mechanism is dying. Keep doing your daily journal dumps. |
| Tells you that you’ll never recover | Recovery isn’t measured by a single night. Stay focused on the larger trend, not today’s sleep score. |
When Things Get Worse On The Path Towards Insomnia Recovery
One of the most discouraging moments in insomnia recovery is when sleep suddenly deteriorates after you’ve begun doing the inner work. It’s easy to assume you’ve failed, that the journaling isn’t working, or that you’re somehow broken beyond repair. But an extinction burst suggests the opposite may be true.
When a long-standing protective pattern begins losing its grip, it often makes one last desperate attempt to regain control. The increase in symptoms isn’t necessarily evidence that you’re moving away from recovery; it may be evidence that you’re getting closer to it.
This is why understanding the recovery process matters so much. When you recognize an extinction burst for what it is, you’re less likely to panic, abandon the work, or return to the same fear-based habits that keep insomnia alive.
If you’re using therapeutic journaling and emotional awareness to address chronic insomnia, the key isn’t to eliminate every difficult night. The goal is to learn how to respond differently when those difficult nights occur.
That’s exactly what I teach inside Rest ReSET. You’ll learn how to identify the hidden emotional patterns that fuel insomnia, develop a consistent journaling practice, and navigate setbacks, speedbumps, and extinction bursts without losing confidence in the process.
If you’re ready to stop fighting your insomnia and start understanding it, I’d love for you to join us.
Explore the Rest ReSET program and begin your recovery journey today.
If these ideas resonate with you, please consider joining my newsletter. Here I share insights on chronic insomnia, nervous system healing, and finding rest without turning sleep into another problem to solve. The signup is below.
