After first strutting into the ‘Werk Room’ four years ago, Tina Burner is pulling back the wig to share her mental health journey.
The RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 alum, who is currently competing on Season 10 of All Stars, recently thanked the show’s therapy resource, Queen Care, for helping her discover her autism and ADHD diagnoses after facing “hate” and “negativity” from fans the first time around.
“Tomorrow I am back on your screens. Although exciting it also feels like I am bracing for a storm,” started Burner (real name Kristian Seeber) in an Instagram post. “The first time around on Season 13, I have to say, I wasn’t fully prepared for what would follow. The darkness, the hate, the confusion.”
Burner said she’s “grown so much as a person” since her debut on the competition series in 2021. “I’ve pushed myself to actually find out who I really was,” she added.
“Not only in my physical drag transformation, but more so on the inside,” wrote Burner. “My whole life there have been so many things I never understood. Why I am who I am. Why I act certain ways in social settings, in relationships, in friendships and just life in general. My overwhelming focus on things and certain patterns. For years I tried to ‘quiet the creative’ inside me.”
After turning to “overworking and alcohol” to “silence or slow down what I felt inside” during her debut season, Burner was introduced to Queen Care, which is “therapy at your disposal provided by RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
“For the first time in my life therapy didn’t feel like a stigma but rather a tool to help,” wrote Burner, noting that Queen Care referred her to Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York City, where she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD.
“I finally had answers to so many questions,” she wrote. “If you know me you know I love a project. For the first time in my life, THE PROJECT IS ME!!! SO I wanna say thank you Thank you for the hate. Thank you for the negativity. Without it I would have never found myself.”
