Not being able to breathe is a common fear and nightmare, which seems to manifest in a variety of ways. For some it involves being underwater, and can end in people holding their breath, and suddenly waking up breathless.
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Dreams About Not Being Able To Breathe
In some cases, dreams of being unable to breathe are an indication that there is someone in your life who is drowning you out of something, whether it is emotional or creative. As you saw above, dreams of not being able to breathe may indicate you are burdened too much with real-life responsibility. Dreams of not being able to breathe may also mean that you might feel uncomfortable about something that you did recently. Dreams of not being able to breathe may also mean that you are going through a really stressful situation, which is why you are feeling bad.
Not being able to breath for a brief moment in the dream can mean feeling trapped in your life. If you are not able to breathe, and the dream results in you dying, this may indicate feelings of negative emotions in life.
See also: Dreams about drowning
Underwater Dream Interpretation
Not being able to breathe underwater in a dream indicates you are feeling under stress because you are worried about something. If you are under water in your dream, but cannot breathe, it indicates emotional chaos. When you had a dream where you were underwater, and you could not breathe properly, it can be a sign that you are struggling with something, and this something is not coming to you, as you feel like you are being put under a lot of pressure.
This dream may also be an indication of feeling under emotional pressure from certain people in your life, usually those that are very close to you. If you have dreams of someone trying to choke you, and not being able to breathe because of it, these dreams may indicate someone with lots of power over you in your life.
When you had a dream where you felt that someone was trying to strangle you, and felt that you were unable to breathe, it might be a sign that there is a person in your life who has a lot of power over you, and you should be cautious anytime you are around that type of person.
Sleep Paralysis
If you dreamed of someone else being the reason why you were unable to breathe, it indicates you have acquired a deep-rooted issue that needs addressing, or that you need to reconnect with someone that you have lost touch with. If you dream that you are holding your breath and you are not breathing, this dreams indicates that you must let go of comforts in order to resolve some difficulties or problems that you are currently facing. Dreaming of holding your breath represents a temporary need to forgo your comfort to overcome an issue or a challenging situation. To dream of holding your breath indicates a persistent mental condition.
Dreams that you cannot catch your breath at all, in which you breathe but nothing happens, are signs you are experiencing tremendous amounts of stress. If the breathing is not smooth in your dreams, or if you are struggling to take in air, this is a dream revealing an anxious, unbalanced, stressed, overwhelmed state because of something. If you are dreaming of struggling to catch your breath, such dreams are signs of tension, anxiety, or fear that you are feeling, about some new situation in your life. A dream in which you are not able to breath, or trying to catch your breath, indicates you are feeling tension, fear or anxiety, in regards to some situation in your life.
Anxiety Dreams And Chest Pressure
A dream in which you are unable to breath normally or at all generally indicates being emotionally overloaded with certain situations in real life. If you are having trouble breathing in real life, your dream might just be a reflection of something that is actually happening to you. Your dreams about being unable to breathe are drawing attention to the way you are feeling in your body, the way that your emotions might cause you to keep too much tension in your muscles, the way that you are feeling fatigued, stressed, and the way staying grounded might help to deal with those feelings. Dreaming of having trouble breathing represents feeling uncomfortable, feeling like you are being placed on too much restraint, being pressured, or having trouble dealing with an issue.
Dreaming about being unable to or having trouble breathing may represent feeling uncomfortable or feeling restricted in some way, often from some outside force. Dreams of having a bad breath indicate feeling enclosed or cramped. If you just see yourself struggling to breathe in the dream, this may often suggest that there is an argument or conflict going on in your wake life. To dream of breathing quickly indicates you are feeling a certain amount of anxiety, stress, or fear about a new situation in your waking life.
Anxious Dreams And Nightmares
This dream usually indicates being stressed out and feeling extremely anxious. If you are stressed out, if you are feeling stressed about something that you need to get done, you are likely to experience this kind of dream. After these types of dreams, you should try to find out what are the certain circumstances of your life, and try to work on those, so that you can free yourself from the anxiety that they are making you feel. Sometimes, such a dream indicates that you are feeling under great pressure in your real life.
If someone is mostly trying to kill you, whether it is by choking you or by choke-slamming you in the dream, it means that you are feeling trapped in your life, likely because of emotional issues. Dreams about someone else causing you to not be able to breathe exemplify some kind of profound, unresolved issue, or possible regeneration in your relationship with the other person. If you dream about being choked to death by someone or something that is restricting your airway, such as a bag or other material that you cannot breath through, it suggests that you are going through a life transition. What position you are sleeping in may also trigger dreams, if this makes it difficult for your body to breath, then your dreams will reflect that.
Summary
Struggling for breath in a dream suggests a big worry or fear is lying almost directly over your head, big enough to where you cannot see beyond it. To summarize, being unable to breathe in a dream is a reflection of an imbalance in waking life.