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The Delta Burke and Gerald McRaney Interview (Page 1 of 3)
An
Interview with Delta Burke and Gerald McRaney
Gary Barg: Mac, did it
take a while for Delta to see that it
was time to see a therapist, or bring
professionals into it?
Gerald
McRaney: It was a matter of,
among other things, searching for the
right medication, and just sort of time
with the therapist, until things began
to make sense to Delta. To me, that was
one of the things about the medications
that they are not, in and of themselves,
going to cure depression; but they will
let you get out of your own way long
enough that you and your therapist can
take care of the symptoms.
GB:
That’s right. We’re always talking to
caregivers about there being no “magic
bullet.” But everything is a shovel full
of dirt for you to fill in that hole
you’ve been standing in.
Delta Burke:
There were times, as we went along, he
was very protective of me and sheltered
me from unpleasant environments or
things that were very stressful to me.
Then, as I began to get stronger and was
able to handle things a little better,
we had to readjust the relationship,
which was always tricky.
GM:
And it wasn’t just a continuing spiral
up and out of it; occasionally, she
would go back into a dark place again.
So, I didn’t know what my role was at
that point. Am I the one who is supposed
to be protective or am I the one who is
supposed to let her go out and face
these things and deal with her fears?
Where do I stand now?
GB:
How did you find those answers?
GM: You
just have to sort of play of it by ear,
and deal with where she is at this
moment in time as you go along.
DB:
And he also came into therapy with me
for a while, where we learned to talk to
each other better; because that
communication had to happen and
sometimes I would shut down. So we each
learned the techniques for not
threatening the other one, not scaring
the other one, or having the other get
defensive, and keeping the communication
open. That was a big turning point for
us that helped a lot. He had to come in
for a while, and in just in a few
sessions, we were able to start
practicing that. He would go in and
learned more with the doctors.
GB: Mac, did you find yourself falling
into a depression or did you find
yourself not caring for yourself? Did
this affect you?
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