Buster Burns, a former drag queen, has 8 personalities and haven’t left his house for past 9 years suffers for agoraphobia and he said “Facebook is my whole life”.
Agoraphobia currently affects over 200,000 people in the United States. This debilitating condition is chronic, and those affected are often restrained to their home to avoid people and places that cause anxiety.
Buster Burns in Little Rock, Arkansas used to be as extroverted as they come. An award winning drag queen, he would walk the stage as Ophelia
every week in front of a crowded club. After the sudden death of a friend in 2000, Buster started slowly shying away. Then over the next seven years his sickly mother moved in and was bed ridden. Without realizing it, he was not leaving the house either.
Buster spent these years realizing childhood trauma and watching political news that led to depression. He was diagnosed with multiple personality disorder that made him shy away from the outside world even more, only leaving the house to work with a therapist.
Today Buster spends his days with a supportive Facebook community, chatting for up to 10 hours a day. He lives off disability and takes pride in his cooking and renovating his home room by room. He literally said “Facebook is my whole life”.
The most important thing Buster wanted to make clear was that he found happiness. All humans have the same desire to feel safe and comfortable, and that can look very different person to person. He only goes in front of his house because he has no neighbours. Recent opportunity for going in front of his house was to create Halloween arrangements. His sister visits him once a week to bring all that is necessary to live for Buster. He only goes out to his yard where no neighbours stays.
Text by Claire Valera
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