Jonathan Van Ness has an "amazing" therapist.
The 32-year-old grooming expert – who opened up about his addiction and mental health struggles, as well as being HIV positive, in his new memoir ‘Over the Top’ – has spent "years" reflecting regularly on the events of his life and finds opening up to someone else incredibly helpful when it comes to dealing with the "really dark, more difficult" times.
He told People magazine: "I have an amazing therapist, who I talk to at least once a week.
"I’ve been working with her for years, since I was 27."
The ‘Queer Eye’ star also likes to keep physically active and has found dance fitness class Zumba a "gorgeous" way to maintain good mental health.
He added: "Zumba is a gorgeous tool that I used in many different cities that I’ve lived in over the years.
"It’s like if you’re going to take some other class, you don’t necessarily know what you’re getting into, if people are going to be nice, or if it’s going to be inclusive.
"But every time I go to Zumba class, it is community, it is fun, everyone is there to have a good time. It’s so non-judgmental. It’s so inclusive.
"Anytime we can literally move our bodies, I think that it helps us to get out of our head.
"Like if we have a critical piece about us inside of our head, or it can help us deal with anxiety, depression or loneliness. I think that moving our bodies in a community space can be really healing and fun."
Jonathan found it "really scary" being so candid in his memoir, but the positive reception he’s received has made him vow to work even more
on advocating for issues that matter to him.
He said: "It’s been very heartening for me to have that support and that love, but also there’s been a pretty big indicator that this has been the tip of the iceberg of the work for me.
"This is just the beginning of my work in advocacy. For equality, for access to medicine for people living with HIV, for advocacy for people that are surviving sexual abuse, for people who struggle with disordered eating."
Jonathan Van Ness has ‘amazing’ therapist
