Mental / Emotional Benefits of Corsets

Last updated on November 4th, 2021 at 02:52 pm

Click here to purchase Solaced (the official Corset Benefits book)

Corsets have the ability to help the wearer boost their confidence, create a more “alpha” frame of mind and character through proper posture, soothe anxiety, provide deep pressure for those with hypersensitivity or autism, and help provide a comforting hug for those suffering with grief or depression, or simply soothe the stresses of daily life. Read more below to learn more about the mental and emotional benefits to corsets, or you can read about the physical benefits, or the social benefits on their own pages. Or go back to the main “Corset Benefits” page.

As always, see the medical disclaimer in the footer for proper context.

Mental and Emotional Benefits of Corsets:

  1. Corsets are not only associated with becoming ever-smaller  — many clinically underweight women have been able to combat their eating disorders and learn to celebrate their bodies and embrace their curves (figuratively and literally) by wearing a corset.  Since their corset adds proprioception and helps increase body awareness, it can be a tool to counter dysmorphia. Some corseters like Leah in Chapter 12 have managed to gain and maintain a healthy weight, as her eating habits are “regulated” by the corset.
    Refer to Chapter 12: Body Positivity
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  2. Corsets can boost the self-image of those with low self esteem, and encourage a greater notion of self-worth by affecting the posture and not allowing the wearer to “apologize for their existence” (in the words of Sarah Chrisman) – this can apply to those with poor body image, those who have been emotionally abused and made to feel “less than”, or otherwise.
    Refer to Chapters 12 (Body Positivity) and 17 (Coping with Adversity)
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  3. Corsets are worn by many to ward off depression, panic attacks or generalized anxiety – the corset provides an element of Deep Pressure Therapy and feels like a secure, constant hug, which is naturally comforting and grounding to many people (the way that being swaddled is comforting to a child). Pressure on the abdomen can also somewhat negate the “butterfly in stomach” and nausea symptoms associated with anxiety.
    Refer to Chapter 15: Mental Health (Anxiety & Depression)
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  4. Corsets can act as a coat of armor and a mode of “physical” therapy for those who suffer from PTSD. People who have been physically or sexually abused and tend to eschew human contact may feel safer by wearing a corset, as it provides a “barrier” between themselves and the outside world (the corset is a rigid garment with steel and often many layers of fabric). This makes it difficult to feel physical contact of anyone “outside” the corset, even accidental touch (for instance bumping into someone on public transit). Yet the corset still provides the wearer the feeling of a secure hug on their own terms, until they are ready to accept touch from other people.
    Refer to Chapter 17: Coping with Adversity
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  5. Corsets can help those with ADHD to feel more grounded and present, as the constant physical sensation of corset around them can help keep their mind focused in the present. Deep pressure can also soothe the agitation and hypersensitivity related to the feeling of being pulled in a thousand directions at once. This has helped some wearers like Hazel and Jen to improve their concentration and productivity.
    Refer to the stories “The Stays that Soothe” and “Long-Term Relationship”
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  6. The rigidity and structure of a corset can translate to help some wearers feel as though there is more structure in their lives. For those who feel lost or out of control of their lives, the corset’s stability has helped them to feel more in control and less vulnerable to the unpredictable stresses of daily life. In extreme situations, some individuals like Ana, Andrea, and Anja have noted that wearing corsets have helped them to stop their cycle of self-harm.
    Refer to Chapters 15 (Mental Health) and 16 (Autism Spectrum)
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  7. Corsets can also help one through transitional periods in their lives. Corsets can reduce body dysphoria in trans and gender fluid wearers (Chapter 14: Gender Identity) and can also help one make peace with aging and ease the process of menopause (Chapter 18: Mature Corseting)
    *
  8. For those interested in metaphysics, some individuals even believe that the compression from the corset over the abdomen and solar plexus can activate the Manipura chakra which is said to be tied to interpersonal relationships and self-esteem. One Reiki practitioner (Rebecca) says that the steels of her corset may act as conductors to help amplify the energy in her healing sessions.
    Refer to Chapter 19: Corsets & Metaphysics

Jump to the physical benefits to corseting, or the benefits with societal impact.

*Please note that this article is strictly for information purposes and not intended to replace the advice of a medical physician. Please talk to your doctor if you’d like to start wearing a corset for any reason.

14 thoughts on “Mental / Emotional Benefits of Corsets

  1. I just wanted to say that I definitely agree with what you said in this post, I do feel a lot better mentally when I’m wearing a corset and it helps me with anxiety. It really is a great confidence booster. I love your website!

    1. Thank you, Caila!

  2. Thanks for your amazing post, it’s really inspiring me to read about a lot of the benefits. I have a lot of emotional things that you mentioned, as well as moderate back pain from a car accident I was in, and I love vintage and historical clothing anyway, so I’m really thinking about saving up to buy a corset (if my doctor says it’s ok of course). I’m writing a research paper on corsets and their hidden benefits, and if it’s ok I’d love to use some quotes from your page! (When I have more money available I’ll buy the book too probably).

    1. Hi Morgan, you are absolutely welcome to quote my work, with proper citation of course. :) Thanks for asking!

  3. Something rather curious has happened as a result of my wearing corsets more or less full time. Shortly before the loss of my dear wife of 30+ years I was diagnosed with hypertension (BP 190/100) and was prescribed medication which successfully reduced it to an “acceptable” 135/85. During a follow up meeting with my GP the root cause of the problem was identified as anxiety and depression brought on by stress over my wife’s terminal cancer. I had worn corsets before her death and she was fine with that. After her death it was over a year before I started lacing again. Mindful of my blood pressure I was careful to monitor it in and out of a corset and my blood pressure WAS higher when laced but not enough to cause concern. I felt less anxious when laced and appreciated the support the corset gave me, both in a physical and emotional sense. Over the last year, somewhat to my surprise, my blood pressure gradually fell to the point where my GP reduced my medication. My BP now averages 120/80 without my corset BUT averages 117/77 after being laced for a few hours. I appreciate this may not be the case for everyone so caution should be exercised if you have high blood pressure. I wonder if my experience is unique?

    1. I wear corsets & have, some of, these issues. What you’re writing is negligent & harmful. You are NO psychologist, nor, are you a medical doctor. Nor is any of this factual. I signed up for your newsletter before I read this. I’m going to go cancel that, immediately. You are pandering to people with, very serious, issues to sell your products. I sincerely hope no one relapses/gets triggered/hurt.

      1. Hi Jennifer, I’m going to answer this from the heart as much as possible: it’s true that I’m not a doctor, and I literally say this on every page of my website, in addition to having a medical disclaimer in my book. I’ve never pretended to be a medical professional (but I have shared my book with several MDs). I also have trigger warnings in my book because it addresses some very difficult topics.

        However, my lack of MD doesn’t preclude or discredit the real experiences of myself and over 2000 people who have written about how corsets have helped them over the years. Jennifer, I have personal experience with anxiety and depression, and lived in a small town with small-minded people who never talked about anxiety or depression (or corsets). No one is claiming that corsets are a cure-all, and they’re certainly not a substitute for medication — even so, they have personally helped keep me grounded, and the testimonials in my book have been legally signed by the authors to verify the truthfulness of their statements.

        People have different ways of self-soothing and yes, something like corsets are one of the tools that some people say helps to combat some of their mental and emotional struggles. There is nothing negligent about providing a platform for real people to share their honest experiences. And since you say you have some of the aforementioned issues as well, I would’ve hoped that you would understand that shaming others for what works for them (telling them that their subjective experiences are not factual) is incredibly hurtful and is a form of gaslighting.

        Regarding “pandering” to sell products, you have the timeline reversed. I started as a corset enthusiast like any other, and if you read about the origin of Solaced, the first corset I sent to my friend Jody was one that I had personally purchased and gifted to her for free. It was my hope that it would bring her pain relief and emotional comfort the way it had brought me. It was only years after that experience that I started selling corsets, because I believed in it so much. Even so, the vast majority of the corsets mentioned in the book are from other brands (mostly custom made medical braces), not my own products at all, and I happily recommend people to specialist corsetieres with orthopedic training, at no charge. Corsetry is a passion project, it is by no means a wildly lucrative industry to be in. In fact, my Solaced book is not profitable at all – but I continue to distribute it, and would continue distributing it even if I left the corset community altogether, because I wholeheartedly believe in the message.

        None of what I say will probably matter to you or change your opinion of me, and that’s fine. But I won’t have my sincere intentions twisted around or manipulated, and I won’t have the experiences of my friends invalidated by strangers who never cared to understand their story.

  4. I just read portions of your anthology and was moved by your narrative of how you came to corsetting. Secondly, as an aging woman, I was drawn to Chapter 18: Mature Corseting and really enjoyed reading this particular chapter. I related to the notion of aging and as I age I am trying hard not to feel ashamed that my beauty is fading. Corsetting has helped me regain my confidence and has given me a new appreciation of my curves (39-27-39). Thank you, Lucy, you are indeed a blessing to many of us.

  5. Hi Lucy,

    I only found out about you and your site today, but what you write makes so much sense to me that I have to write a few words. I am highly sensitive / temporal lobe sensitive (which is sort of half way toward an Asperger syndrom). And to say that right away: I love wearing a corset as it helps me a lot.
    Initially I come from a point of meditation and taoism where the unobstructed flow of the body and it’s energy (in loose dresses) is seen so significant. Well. But in my case this “unobstructed flow” just makes my energy flowing wildly in my body – which can feel very crazy.

    An example: what makes an electric bulb an electric bulb that gives light? The (electric) resistance of the little wire inside that glows. No resistance and you simply have a short circuit that blows the fuse. In a similar fashion I sense a corset as a resistance that modulates my energy flow.

    This can be (in my case) physically quite drastic. One example: last December I had massive surges of energy that in yoga you call a kundalini syndrom. Dizziness, anxiety and hearing disorders were the symptoms. It was scary and increased over the days. I tried several things including acupuncture and frequency therapy that did not work. Finally by the end of the week I thought: maybe my corset … and in a matter of minutes I slowed down, the dizziness, anxiety and my hearing disorder were gone! (and did not return)

    I am familiar with Temple Grandin and her amazing work for many years and her deep pressure therapy. So before discovering the benefits a corset I already had some very tight dresses and also experienced the effects of different materials. Latex in that regard can be amazing not only because of it’s potential tightness but the material itself has an outstanding capacity to slow down and modulate the energy (“chi”) flow of a human body. It can be like a cocoon.

    Well. I know I am a bit “crazy” but I trust in my craziness as it had given me in my life so often the solution I needed.
    So, I know what a corset can do for me .. but I do not know anybody else who appreciates it in this way. Erotic fashion, even fetish, yes, but beneficial for health? And then a corset for a woman, but for a man?
    So reading your page came as a little “yippee” to me … thank you so much. It’s late at night as I write this … tomorrow I will get your book :-)

    Thank you :-)
    Tomi

  6. Hello Miss Lucy! This is amazing! I, too, am all of the above and what you say makes a lot of sense. Several years ago I bought a corset (not a proper one- laces up the front. Still lovely though) from the local rennisance festival. I had been coveting one all my life and fell in love with it, people telling me I look fantastic in it, but that I’ve got to be crazy to wear that thing! ? It’s thick and decorative, so it’s more for the outside of clothes.

    So I’ve worn my corset many times over the years, and have had mixed feelings. I am the only one I know who wears one, so I feel a bit self concious. My husband thinks it’s a bit “much” and highlights my boobs too much. My signature time for wearing it has become when I go to a concert with my girlfriends. I hadn’t realised how much wearing it energised me, strengthened me, made me feel protected, etc. It also makes me feel pretty, poised and sexy, as I am wee 5’2″ 125 lbs; decently proportioned, except for a relentless pooch that I’m always trying to hide. the corset cinches in my tummy and helps me stand tall.

    I also have a nasty case of fibromyalgia, and while being bound 24/7 would be too much for me, when I do wear my corset for a few hours it feels rather relaxing! For instance when people tell me how uncomfortable it must be, I explain, on the contrary! I can sit up straight all day long without having to do all the work!

    Now the time has come for me to look for a new corset, as my black one is stretched and worn and I have also lost weight, and now it’s too big on me. This is what got me online looking into them. Indeed, I’m coming to appreciate the many benefits of corseting more and more, and Lucy your site and videos have been extraordinarily informative, classy, and helpful, and aside from that I think you’re pretty darn cool! ? I want to thank you for your generosity with your time, knowledge, and creativity. ? Keep up the good work! You’re beautiful! ?

    Cheers!
    Georgi ?

    1. Thank you so much for your kind words and your testimonial, Georgi! :) I’m so glad that you find my site and videos helpful, and something you can relate to. As we say in the corset community, *corset hugs*!

  7. Thank you so much for this post. I am all of the above mentiomed, lol, and I am looking forward to my first corset coming in the mail!

  8. You know, I never thought of it that way, but I have a terrible back and the pressure feels SO good! Do be cautious of getting a hiatal hernia though. I’ve had one and it was no fun, but I may start wearing my corsets more for my back! Thanks for the website!

    1. HI Samantha, thanks for sharing your experience! I do warn in the physical benefits page that corsets can help with some hernias but exacerbate other hernias, so checking with your doctor is definitely a good idea. :)

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