The Great British Breakdown? Results from a national research on confidence level.

MANCHESTER, U.K. - May 17, 2013 - PRLog -- May 2013

The Great British Breakdown?

A quarter of Brits NEVER feel good about themselves, with the everyday task of looking in the mirror causing the most distress

·       One fifth of adults are left quivering when it comes to dealing with banks or utility companies

·       35% of parents have zero confidence to pass on to their children

·       21% of men and women feel unconfident at the school gates or at kids’ parties

·       35% claim they were comfortable in their own skin at age 25-34 however 55+ bracket said they were most happy in the here and now

·       Battle of the bulge weighs heavily, with 33% saying it would be the first thing to go if they had a magic wand

For 24% of ‘blue’ Brits, feeling good is nothing but a song lyric, and for 15% of this ‘down in the dumps’ demographic, every day of the week is clouded by insecurities. For the other 9%, it’s a case of ‘one good day out of seven ain’t bad’ – a depressing balance sheet by anyone’s standard.

Despite living in a city renowned for its party atmosphere, results have shown that the ‘Scouser Smile’ may be all for show, with Liverpudlians having the highest percentage of those who never feel good at 30.8%, closely followed by their Welsh neighbours, Cardiff at 26.8%. The ‘Celtic Craic’ must count for something though, with Edinburgh and Belfast ranking low in terms of respondents, with only 12.8% claiming they never feel good.

Research commissioned by Transform Cosmetic Surgery Group has uncovered some worrying causes of this deep-rooted insecurity and lack of self-esteem. Most startling is that for over a quarter of respondents, facing themselves in the mirror ranked highest in terms of situations where confidence escaped them.

Other tragically close contenders to the top spot included dealing with bank or utility companies, which left nearly one fifth of adults quivering like jelly, and taking children to the local swimming pool at the weekends induced waterworks for 30% of respondents.

The research was undertaken as part of Transform’s Feel Good Campaign – a series of initiatives with the aim of empowering the nation to celebrate their own lives. By launching the campaign, Transform is encouraging people to become their own champions, whether it be taking up a new hobby, asking that certain someone out on a date, or just clapping themselves on the back for being fabulous every now and again.  

Research showed that while women battled with confidence more than men (with 10% of more women admitting to never feeling good about themselves, and 15% more with little or no confidence) there is one situation that turns both parties into nervous wrecks - parental insecurities. 21% of men and women face similar concerns when it comes to measuring up against other parents at the school gate and at kids’ parties. Although those with children fared better than childless respondents in terms of feeling good, it was an even playing field when it came to confidence with virtually the same amount admitting to having little or no confidence – in fact, a worrying 35% of parents felt they had none to pass on to their children.

On the surface it would seem that the 25-34 age bracket is when confidence and feeling good is at its highest. When asked why, 35% described it as the time they were simply ‘comfortable in their own skin’. Interestingly, good relationships and buzzing social lives ranked a lot lower down the pecking order – testament to the belief that you need to feel good within yourself before others can make you feel good.

However, on further inspection, those respondents in the 55+ age bracket cited the here and now as the time they felt their best, meaning that for the younger groups, the best is yet to come. Of those over 55 it was residents of Sheffield that felt their finest at 55+, with 13% stating they’ve never felt as good as they do in their prime. Asked why they felt so good, a confident 45% of over 55s said it was because they were now happy with their general appearance, a stark contrast to the mere third of respondents who said their mid twenties was when they felt happy with how they looked, proving that, like a fine wine, we improve with age.

When offered a hypothetical magic wand to change something about their person, it would seem battle of the bulge weighed heavily on respondent’s minds, despite their earlier comments on being happy with general appearance. 33% said weight would be the first to go, ironically however, none of the respondents chose to give themselves more confidence.

Steven Taylor, Marketing Director at Transform Cosmetic Surgery Group commented on the findings, and the campaign as a whole: “The research commissioned has thrown up some pretty shocking statistics with regards to just how low some of us are feeling on a daily basis, and how little confidence we have. Most startling is how a lack of confidence can result in a total inability to complete simple tasks, and undertake every day activities. Sadder still, is the high percentage of respondents who find looking at themselves in the mirror as the biggest blow to confidence.

“Our whole campaign is centred around empowering the nation to feel good about themselves, and celebrate their own achievements, however small. We want to address this imbalance in self-esteem and create a nation of confident and fearless Britons. The research is only the beginning of our Feel Good Campaign so we hope everyone stays tuned for more information in the coming weeks.”

ENDS

For more information please contact Dawn Hesketh / Vickie Bertram / Aimee Clark at JAMpr: 0161 8500565 or dawn@jampr.co.uk / Vickie@jampr.co.uk / aimee@jampr.co.uk

Notes to editors

Transform is Britain's largest and most popular cosmetic surgery provider with 38 years' experience 27 clinics across the UK and two hospitals dedicated to cosmetic surgery.

Transform offers a comprehensive and extensive post-operative care programme, included in the cost of the treatments, giving patients that extra peace of mind after surgery.

Transform works with highly qualified and GMC registered cosmetic surgeons and experienced nursing staff.

Survey of 2,033 UK respondents