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Aug-Sep15
LIFE&FAMILY
The Risk of
By Maureen Esmus
“Work hard, play hard” is a common
refrain among expats in Hong Kong, and
it’s true that many who live here throw
themselves with equal relish into their jobs
and their social lives. For some, however,
the partying can begin to take over, with a
range of damaging consequences.
J
ohn*, who works in Hong Kong’s finance
sector, has been living as an expat in
various parts of Asia for the past 20 years,
and describes himself as a long-time heavy
drinker. “I always knew I had a problem,” he says.
“I experienced patterns of negative impacts due to
drinking; I had to resign from three different jobs
after embarrassing alcohol-related incidents.”
However, despite mounting problems, his
numerous attempts to stop or cut back were always
in vain. “Over the past five or six years living in
Hong Kong, I was mildly keeping things together,”
he says, “but after another close call threatened to
jeopardise my career, I decided that enough was
enough, and that I had to do something about this.”
After a month-long retreat and a series of chance
meetings with people who urged him to seek
additional support upon returning to Hong Kong,
he finally Googled “alcohol therapy Hong Kong”
and found The Cabin – a new outpatient addiction
treatment centre that seemed to fit his need for
treatment while allowing him to continue working
and living a sober life in HK.
Of course, not all expats who use drugs and
alcohol will develop an addiction. Addiction is a
disease with a strong genetic factor that accounts
for up to 50 percent of a person’s risk. According
to Joanne Schmitt, head addiction counsellor at
The Cabin Hong Kong, the following are addiction
risk factors prevalent in expat lifestyle, which,
when combined with genetic predisposition, can
lead people like John into the downward spiral of
addiction.
* Not his real name
Eti Swinford | Dreamstime.com