Simply put, the corset is putting pressure on my waist, not on my lungs or on my diaphragm, which is the muscle that sits below your lungs & helps you inhale & exhale.
So it goes lungs, diaphragm, waist. If you have clausterphobia, corsets are probably not something you want to look into.
Also, if you get a corset that is too small or tight around your underbust (wrong “rib spring”), this may be what’s causing you to feel like you cant breathe.
Another thing to consider is whether or not you naturally breathe through your belly or through your chest.
I’m a belly breather by nature.
I like big, slow, full breaths.
When you breathe with your belly, you tend to take deeper breaths, because you’re engaging your breathing muscle a bit more, aka the diaphragm.
But when you breathe through your chest, your breaths tend to be more shallow, or not as deep.
So if you’re used to the former, and you have a corset on, it may seem like you “cant breathe”.
You may need to train yourself to use your chest more when you breathe.
I used to have a problem taking deep breaths with my corset on, but not anymore!