Defying Mental Illness

With three posts/week, seven podcasts, and a developing vidoe page, Defying Mental Illness is evolving from a small blog to a multimedia platform collaborating with various individuals and organizations on a common goal of ending stigma surrounding mental health.  

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Anxiety and distressing thoughts are mental wheelchairs. Dealing with them liberates you

Chuck Onah co-founder of Defying Mental Illness

In a single moment, your whole life can change. Chuck Onah experienced this when he fainted at an airport and found himself waking up in a mental hospital. Diagnosed with psychotic depression, a wide range of other mental disorders, and finally schizophrenia, Chuck refused to succumb to his illnesses. He believed, and continues to believe, in the power of positivity as he “defied the odds”. After 16 years he went off his medications and, after another two years, much to his psychiatrists own amazement, he declared Chuck illness free. Chuck is a symbol of dedication and optimism, and a positive example for anyone going through a tough time.

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A dream is a picture of the destination. It is what you carry for the journey

Zoe Onah co-founder of Defying Mental Illness

Zoe is the epitome of advocacy and a woman with a giant heart. Excelling in writing from a young age, she did not envelop herself in it until becoming involved in her church. Marrying Chuck within one year of meeting him, well aware of his mental illness, she used her talents to write a book about his journey: DEFYING THE ODDS: One man’s struggle and victory over mental illness and his wife whose trust in God never failed. She is an ambassador for multiple mental health organizations and has been awarded for her collaboration. Through writing columns for magazines and guest blogging worldwide, Zoe has one goal: to put an END to the stigma surrounding mental health.

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Coming together, Chuck and Zoe have a common mission: to support those who are affected by mental illness, to foster education and awareness in the public, support various organizations, and, most importantly, combat the stigma. They define their purpose as the “right to a sound mind and divine life encompassing the mind, soul, and body”. Therefore, Defying Mental Illness was founded as a Christian organization in late 2013 and their first blog was posted in May 2014. They strive to value the principles of openness, regardless of race, sex, status, or belief; advocacy of the power of positivity; and collaboration, to provide a profile of mental awareness and education. Defying Mental Illness was born out of two affectionate individuals dedicating their lives to supporting others.

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It all began with the click of a mouse. In May 2014 Defying Mental Illness published its first post and since has established a pattern of 3 posts/week. Bloggers present information in quick excerpts that are easily read and followed. This allows for them to have a wide audience range. Many of the posts are published in a list format, for example: Tips for Handling Criticism. The content of their posts is very diverse. Although it is a mental health blog, the posts are not solely focussed on mental disorders. There are posts about anything that could affect one’s mental health: from exam stress, to adoption, to psychosis. Many posts also focus on more positive aspects such as overcoming an illness or becoming happier. Overall, this contributes to the positive nature and light mood of the blog making it appealing to all viewers.

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Since the first blog was posted in 2014, Defying Mental Illness has evolved to provide their audience with a podcast and video page. Seven podcasts are available created by Chuck and Zoe, to provide listeners with information and encouragement surrounding mental health. Although short, each segment is well produced in a calming manner, making the listener feel supported. There are several videos available on their page; however, they are produced by other sources. Some of the videos, such as India’s Mental Health Crisis, are short documentaries allowing viewers a different perspective on such issues. Others are simply taped slideshows, providing the viewer with content but not as visually appealing. Nonetheless, in the three and a half years of its existence, Defying Mental Illness has become more than just a blog.

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“This just in”. Defying Mental Illness is not just evolving, it is innovating. Through the Share Your Story page, they are doing things a little bit differently. Anyone who has lived with a mental illness, physical illness, or any hardship knows that it is difficult to share their story because it is hard to find someone who will listen. Therefore, Defying Mental Illness has set up online interviews with questions pre-written by Chuck and Zoe. All one needs to do is fill in their own answers. In opposition to one-on-one interviews, this method is more efficient and all interviews are posted on their site every Wednesday, allowing for diverse perspectives and conversations which ultimately help to break down stigma.

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Chuck and Zoe put a lot of work into the Defying Mental Illness blog but they do have some help. Seven bloggers - Anne, Caroline, Elisabeth, Carl, Rachel, and Samson - contribute to the regular feed. Each has their own background relating to mental health. For example, Anne was born in Central Africa to a polygamous Muslim family, abused, married to a polygamous man, suffered more abuse, and eventually became depressed. Anne uses her story to empower others and she, along with the other guest bloggers, contribute to the diversity in content and perspectives on the blog. This diversity lends the site to be more open and approachable by a diverse group of people. Additionally, it helps to tear down the stigma by emphasizing the prevalence of mental ill health and what people can accomplish despite it.

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Just as any other business, Defying Mental Illness needs to make money to survive. Since all guest blogging is voluntary and both Chuck and Zoe have other sources of income (published authors), a huge budget is not necessary. Much of the money they do receive is directed to the good of the community. This is predominately achieved through advertisements on the site. The site charges $30/link ($15 for a guest blogger) to be advertised on the site. For example, if a guest blogger writes a post that connects to a previous work they have written and want to advertise that alongside their post, this is how Defying Mental Illness makes money. The estimated annual revenue for the site is around $122 000, the majority of which comes from these advertisements.

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The diversity of the blog posts allows for a wide audience range. People of all races, sexes, and ages can be affected by mental illness. Mental illness can consume one’s life and affects friends and family as well. Defying Mental Illness wants those who are feeling any of the impacts of poor mental health to find comfort in, and benefit from, their site. For this reason, they publish posts that are appropriate to all age groups, making them clear and concise, and using simple language. To encompass an even larger group of people, some posts pertain to the caregivers of people living with mental illness, like Zoe is for Chuck. The site receives 11,306,605 unique visitors/year.

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Although Defying Mental Illness was founded as a Christian organization, they value the principle of openness regardless of race, sex, status, belief, or faith. Some quotes, posts, and advertisements do come from, or relate to Christianity or Christian doctrine. Chuck and Zoe made their journey with a strong Christian faith which is their reasoning for including it. However, they do not expect others to feel the same way. The majority of the posts are secular so that all people feel included. The importance of this is that stigma surrounding mental health is prevalent in all cultures. To combat this stigma, the site attempts to look at mental health with the inclusion of a variety of worldviews. For example, a video on their page explores mental illness stigma in India. This allows for the audience to understand the importance of universally breaking the stigma, as methods of dealing with mental illness across the world are different and some are deteriorating to the people. The addition of posts from different guest bloggers adds to these multiple perspectives, stepping away from just the Western world.

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“And the award goes to” Within the short time Defying Mental Illness has been running, it has had some major successes. Primarily, Chuck and Zoe have experienced success with the works they have written. Zoe’s book Defying the Odds and Chuck’s Meditations and Confessions series have become popular readings for the public overcoming mental ill health. Additionally, Zoe has been featured on both the Pauline Long Show and Love World TV. As for the blog, it has become quite accessible. Defying Mental Illness is advertised on Psych Central. As the Internet’s oldest independent mental health social network, this provides positive publicity for Defying Mental Illness. Moreover, some of their blogs posts have been featured on Blogarama. This increases the accessibility of their content as being available on more than just their homepage; therefore, it can be reached by a greater number of viewers.

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You have NO idea how much you guys have helped me.  I’m grateful.  I’m thankful.  I would have been dead by now.  You guys are rare.  Zoe listened to me without judging me.  Not once did she judge me…she helped me get better step by step and I am finally making it.  THANK YOU!

(P.M., UAE) testimonial

Chuck strongly believes in the power of positivity and so do the viewers of the site. Positive comments of encouragement and thanks fill the site’s testimonials page. Many people have found healing in the support Chuck, Zoe, and guests provide in their posts. Also on this page, and throughout various sites where they are sold (Amazon, Google Books, etc.) many positive remarks are made about the books Chuck and Zoe have written. Despite this, there are few comments regarding specific posts; therefore, it is difficult to identify which content has the greatest impact on the reader. Striving for improvement, increasing the popularity of commenting on specific posts creates conversations that can alleviate barriers and stigma.

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Defying Mental Illness is a community interest company. This means that they direct their profits and assets for the public good. Dealing with a topic such as mental health, rather than competing, Defying Mental Illness collaborates with many other mental health organizations to provide people with the best support. On their useful links page, they have 27 different online resources that one can access worldwide with topics ranging from those directed towards children, women, men, marriage, finding a job, medical, to general mental health resources that hold events and conferences to demonstrate their support. It is crucial to recognize that these factors can affect one’s mental health which is why Defying Mental Illness needs a broad base of resources to provide optimal support. Together, these organizations create days such as World Happiness Day (June 28th). Defying Mental Illness themselves decided to set Defying Mental Illness Day as March 19th, the day that Chuck was declared illness free.

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collectively an impact can be made and a crusade started that will outlive even our existence

Sandra Nelson founder of Lift Effects

Zoe is an ambassador with the Lift Effects Association. Lift Effects hosts conferences, seminars, and workshops for people to share their stories, and is also international. Sandra Nelson, founder of the organization, said “collectively an impact can be made and a crusade started that will outlive even our existence”. Therefore, it is important that mental health organizations work together in the interest of the community rather than compete for popularity. Zoe and Chuck are both ambassadors for the NOUS organization based in London. NOUS’ mission is to issue awareness about mental heath among the Black Asian and Minority Ethic through sessions where various political figures, mental health professionals, and those who have lived with mental illness speak out.

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On their resources page they also have the suicide hotline numbers for 80 countries worldwide. The goal is to eventually have them all so that everyone can get the help that they need. This demonstrates the international effort to combat mental illness and the stigma surrounding it. The numbers for the mental health helplines of some of the countries with the most prominent mental health crisis (ex. USA, India, etc.) are also included.

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Chuck and Zoe know what it is like to live with mental illness and they want to be assured that they help others in any way that they can. The Defying Mental Illness site has their own page of support services for one-on-on, group, or phone call support. Ultimately, if they cannot find someone to help, they will direct the person to someone who can, because mental illness cannot be eradicated by one person. It takes a collaborative worldwide effort to rid of the consequences of disorders and stigma surrounding them.

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Defying Mental Illness is an excellent blog for tearing down stigma, but there are some aspects in which it could improve. First, their DMI news is not up to date. The most recent post they have is August 2015. Aside from the blog, this gives the impression that the site has been inactive for over two years. As well, there are evident spelling and grammatical errors within certain posts. To improve the professionalism of the site, it is necessary that proofing and editing be done before posts are published.