The ceiling feels heavy.
Here I Lie Awake is a Psychological Horror webcomic created by melaredblu note . It features Zoey, a young woman who hasn't been getting much sleep and is starting to see things. As her mental health deteriorates things get even worse for herself and her family, while we start to learn more about how she’s gotten to this state…
You can read the full comic HERE
Affectionate Nickname: Zoey calls her aunt Natalie "Ant-Gnat" frequently.
Babies Make Everything Better: Averted HARD, as the birth of Natalie and Kurt’s baby does little to help them with the family’s turmoil and nothing to help Zoey or Reggie.
Bumbling Dad: Zoey’s father Reggie is emotionally distant and estranged from his daughter. He makes attempts to try and help her, especially after her accident, but never seems to say or do the right thing.
Cool Aunt: Natalie is very close to Zoey and provides her unwavering support during her time of need.
Decompressed Comic: A positive example of the trope, as the slow, deliberate pacing serves to build tension and dread as Zoey’s mental and physical health deteriorate.
Driven to Suicide: Reggie contemplates overdosing on sleeping pills, but reconsiders and lets the pills drop to the floor...where his cat almost eats one. The shock of realizing what could have happened leads him to call a friend to help talk him down, and it's implied this isn't the first time he's been through this.
Exhausted Eye Bags: Zoey features these constantly, to varying degrees of severity.
Madness Mantra: "it's gone, it's gone, it's gone, it's gone, it still hurts, it still hurts, it still hurts"
Medical Horror: When Zoey is taken to the doctor after her tooth breaks, we see the hospital and the dental surgery from her vulnerable, drugged, hallucinating eyes.
Nervous Wreck: Though he hides it very well, Kurt suffers from panic attacks and is struggling to keep it together with his child’s birth and his niece’s breakdown.
Nice Guy: Natalie’s husband Kurt is unfailingly kind and supportive, even when pushing his own problems down to be there for his family.
Parental Substitute: Natalie, by necessity as well as by choice, has become Zoey’s main emotional support in a way her distant and depressed father Reggie repeatedly has failed to do.
Parents as People: While Reggie clearly loves his daughter it’s clear his own insecurities and depression have caused a massive rift between them over the years, to the point where she refuses his help even at her lowest points.
Psychological Horror: Due to Zoey’s insomnia and increasing Sanity Slippage , most of the disturbing imagery is all in her head.
Recurring Dreams: Discussed. The comic opens with Zoey talking about how she's been having the same sensation every night, preventing her from sleeping. Nat suggest it's a bad dream, but Zoey insists otherwise.
The Insomniac: Zoey, as the title suggests.
The Tooth Hurts: Zoey's tooth cracks during her insomniac fugue, which we see in excruciating detail.
