Suffocation may appear in dreams when negativity is too strong for us to deal with and threatens to overwhelm us. If in waking life we are struggling within a relationship we may find that dreams of suffocation occur. Fears connected with the sexual act can also surface in dreams as suffocation. When we feel we are suffocating in a dream, it may be that our own fears are threatening to overwhelm us. It can also indicate that we are not in control of our own environment. To be suffocating a dream character may mean we wish to shut someone up in waking life.