URBANDALE, Iowa- One local veteran is using her military experience and her new business to support others with mental health challenges.
Tiffany Wheeldon opened Urbandale Massage Therapy in April, but this industry has been her calling for a long time.
“I grew up doing little back rubs and was always told, ‘You should go to massage school for that.’ [I] took a detour in life, and went back to school for massage therapy in 2019,” she said.
That detour was joining the the United States Army Reserves in 2002. Three days after graduating high school in 2003, she went to basic training and was later deployed to Baghdad, Iraq between March 2004 and March 2005.
Her experience in Iraq altered her life. She suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression as a result of her service.
But after opening her small business, her mission now is to use physical touch to help support others with the same mental health challenges.
“When we touch somebody, our brain releases serotonin, which is the happy chemical. And people with anxiety and depression usually struggle with not having enough of that chemical in their brain. This kind of helps them get some of that and will help lessen those symptoms,” she said.