For Debra Newburg, addiction is like a lion lurking in the grass, waiting to pounce.

She’s kept the lion at bay for nearly 13 years now, thanks to her hard work with Kaiser Permanente’s Addiction Medicine programs in the Central Valley service area. She was first in an intensive outpatient program, and then with ongoing relapse prevention groups.

She has no interest in going back to the way it was before.

“I like to tell people the work of staying sober is like going to the gym — you don’t just go one time to get healthy, it’s a lifelong commitment,” said the 62-year-old retired teacher and grandmother.

Since the day her husband took her to the emergency room after she set out to “drink until I wouldn’t wake up,” Kaiser Permanente addiction medicine and mental health programs have helped her build a better life. She also got help for depression from a Kaiser Permanente therapist.

All the Kaiser Permanente programs are wonderful,” said Newburg.

We’ve unfortunately seen this across age groups with women who are catching up to, and in some cases, drinking more than men. — Stacy Sterling, co-director of Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Addiction and Mental Health Research.

More and more women are drinking too much these days.

The number of women who died from excessive alcohol use increased more than 34% from 2016 to 2020, while the number of men who died increased by about 27%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And a recent study showed young women ages 18 to 25 recently surpassed young men of the same age in binge drinking. The CDC defines binge drinking as more than 4 drinks for women on one occasion and more than 5 drinks for men.

“We’ve unfortunately seen this across age groups with women who are catching up to, and in some cases, drinking more than men,” said Stacy Sterling, DrPH, co-director of Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Addiction and Mental Health Research. “Because of their body chemistry and physiology, women go from not having a problem to more quickly having a serious problem than men do.”

Kaiser Permanente research shows alcohol use above the recommended guidelines — no more than 1 drink per day for women or 7 a week, and no more than 2 drinks a day for men or 14 a week _­— negatively affects both the mind and body.

No referral needed to get started

Kaiser Permanente members seeking help with addiction don’t need a referral. They can simply make an appointment or call to get started, said Murtuza Ghadiali, MD, chief of Addiction Medicine at the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center.

“You can self-refer, and every Kaiser Permanente in Northern California has an addiction medicine center,” said Dr. Ghadiali. “If you go to your doctor at least once during the year, they will have screened you for alcohol use. If needed, they will refer you to one of our programs.”

Kaiser Permanente’s addiction medicine programs lean heavily on group therapy where people can talk about what triggers them to use alcohol or drugs, and what their plan is every day not to use, Dr. Ghadiali said.

“Our approach is not punitive,” he said. “We now see addiction as a disease that should be treated in a caring format.”

The programs in addiction medicine range from early engagement and harm reduction up to an intensive outpatient program 6 hours a day, 5 days a week with meetings on the weekend. If needed, patients are referred to inpatient residential programs, said Dr. Ghadiali. There is also medicine available that will help reduce cravings.

“It was a lot for me to be a full-time mom, teacher, and wife, and keep it all going,” said Newburg. “The Kaiser programs helped me address the ‘why’ of my drinking, and taught me that my physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual life are key to staying sober.”