A harrowing portrayal of the horror of addiction

“Your whole life is built around the fear of what will happen the second you stop using,” explains a character in the film, explaining how drug use isn’t about having fun and getting high all day. 

Timed to coincide with National Recovery Month in the US, the three-minute online video is the cornerstone of the #ChooseEmpathy campaign, a collaboration between VB&P and Overdose Lifeline, a non-profit that supports those affected by substance abuse. 

It was created by VB&P Senior Copywriter Jake Reilly, who won VB&P’s annual Fearless Project, an internal competition that funds the winner’s personal passion project. He wanted to better understand addiction and the hurdles that the over 20 million people in the US must overcome. 

With the input and collaboration of friends affected by addiction, others in recovery, doctors and staff at rehabs and methadone clinics, plus the support of VB&P and Heist Productions, Reilly has accurately conveyed the brutal symptoms of opioid withdrawal – the nausea, exhaustion, anxiety and bizarre sensations, such as the feeling that bugs are crawling all over you. Dialogue in the video was taken directly from Jake’s conversations with his friends, and was reenacted by Jake and an actor.

The film ends with the line "addiction is not a choice, empathy is".