Confidence Coach, speaker and podcast host Nancy Haines has issued a warning that the UK is experiencing a growing crisis around confidence and individuality.
Studies increasingly link social media use and constant comparison with higher levels of anxiety, particularly among women, leading to a decline in emotional well-being.
Nancy began her career in HR in Los Angeles before relocating to Dubai, where she realised first-hand how easily identity can become diluted when trying to assimilate into a new environment.
“When I moved abroad, I completely lost my identity,” she said. “Like many expatriates, I muted myself to belong. On the outside, I appeared successful, but inside I felt completely disconnected from who I really was.”
Throughout her HR career, Nancy regularly met women dealing with imposter feelings, pressure to meet external expectations and a fear of standing out. These experiences led her to establish The Center of Confidence in Dubai in 2017, supporting women in finding their voice and trusting themselves again. Now living in London, she continues this mission as a coach, speaker and host of The Art of Being You podcast, where she encourages people to reclaim who they truly are.
Recent research highlights the urgency of her message. The Dove Self Esteem Project has found that over half of young people worldwide do not feel good about the way they look, with social media amplifying these pressures.
In the UK, ONS figures showed that average ratings of personal well-being have declined across all measures in the year ending March 2023, with life satisfaction down to 7.45 out of 10 and anxiety increasing to 3.23 out of 10. While this may not seem significant, it translates to only 52% of the population experiencing life satisfaction, for example, or 35 million people in the UK. Women report higher levels of anxiety than men, with over a quarter affected compared with one in five men.
“We die a thousand little deaths by comparison on social media,” Nancy said. “We are living up to what influencers tell us we should like or want, and in the process we forget what we actually value. Are we truly living, or are we just buying things, ticking boxes, and then thinking, ‘now what?’”
Nancy points to cultural examples that highlight the importance of authenticity and self-discovery, such as Victoria Beckham’s new Netflix documentary. In it, Victoria shares how her Spice Girls bandmates helped her feel confident in her own skin and how she instils that same message in her daughter, Harper. Despite personal and business setbacks, Victoria made a deliberate reset to be more authentic in her work and life, relying on both emotional and financial support from David Beckham while ensuring her creativity and identity remained central.
