The council is supporting Mental Health Awareness Week with this years "Kindness" theme.

Maldon District Council is supporting Mental Health Awareness Week and participating with the theme, specifically chosen in response to the Coronavirus outbreak.

The annual week which is run by the Mental Health Foundation runs from 18th to 24th May to focus on mental health and practise kindness, especially during this challenging time.

Mark Rowland, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: "Now more than ever, we need to re-discover kindness in our daily lives.

"We want to use Mental Health Awareness Week to celebrate the thousands of acts of kindness that are so important to our mental health. And we want to start a discussion on the kind of society we want to shape as we emerge from this pandemic.

"Kindness unlocks our shared humanity and is central for our mental health. It has the potential to bring us together with benefits for everyone, particularly at times of great stress.

"One thing we have seen all over the world is that kindness is prevailing in uncertain times, helping people to connect and communities to cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Kindness is also a vital way we can help support the millions of people who were experiencing mental health problems long before the pandemic started.

"The research clearly supports this – it shows that acts of kindness can help improve emotional wellbeing. This is true whether we are giving or receiving it.

"Anyone and everyone can take part – be it by carrying out an act of kindness, doing some volunteering or contributing to the discussion about what kind of society we want to emerge from the pandemic.”

The Council will be posting throughout the week on social media with idea of how to support your mental health and details of organisations who are there to help.