For people struggling with both substance misuse and mental health challenges (co-occurring disorders), life can feel like an emotional rollercoaster that no one around them can see or understand. Rather than explain “co-occurring disorders” to the public, the campaign used a long-form film to help viewers experience it. The in-depth visceral storytelling opened a window into a young woman’s inner monologue, making viewers a part of her deeply intimate human story—one which helps them better understand friends, family members, and perhaps even themselves.

Over 100 people die of drug overdoses a day in the United States. Yet, experts, politicians, and the public as a whole fail to acknowledge recent data that shows that more than 50% of Americans misusing substances also struggle with mental health disorders. Which means many are not being treated appropriately.

Harris Marquesano was one of these people. At the young age of 19, he died of accidental overdose after struggling with ADHD and anxiety for the majority of his life. When the American healthcare system failed to see the connection between his mental health and substance misuse—ultimately leading to his tragic death—Harris’s mom, Stephanie Marquesano, founded the first and only national nonprofit solely dedicated to treatment for co-occurring disorders.

Named “the harris project,” the nonprofit exists not only to educate young people and help prevent them from going down the same path Harris did, but to help change policy across the country. This film was an essential step in the process.

In the film, a seemingly innocent drinking game grows ever darker as a young woman slowly reveals how her mental health problems drive her substance misuse—and vice versa.

The phrase “drink if you…” acts as a beating drum at the heart of the story, mirroring the cyclical nature of addiction as she struggles to get through even the most routine moments—eating breakfast, going to school, being with friends—until, finally, her darkest secrets are brought to light

Despite massive efforts to destigmatize substance misuse, society continues to dismiss users as helpless “addicts.” However, many fail to realize the truth: that one in every two people misusing substances also struggle with mental health challenges.

To illuminate the connection between these co-occurring disorders, particularly for young people who may unknowingly be self-medicating, we developed a relatable film that intuitively pairs mental health challenges with the unfortunate, yet inevitable result: a drink and other substances. Each line in the film is based off of an insight we heard when interviewing hundreds of teens suffering from co-occurring disorders. Ultimately, it aims to help society better understand the issue not just on a practical level, but emotionally, as well, changing the minds of young people, the public, and even policy across the country.

This is the first film about co-occurring disorders in the United States. The film has been integrated into schools and rehabilitation clinics across the country and has been screened for both local and national policymakers in an effort to establish a national comprehensive treatment program designed to treat mental health challenges and substance misuse together. It has been covered in U.S. press extensively, on morning news shows, and has even debuted at the White House.