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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.

Wheeldon also uses different methods, like hot stones and cupping, to enhance client-experience, and she is level-one certified in Trauma Touch Therapy, which can help people suffering from PTSD. She also uses aromatherapy.

“Scents do amazing things for people. A certain scent can take you back to a favorite memory, but they can also have an old school medicinal effect. In blending different oils together, you can actually help with different symptoms,” said Wheeldon.

Her own mental health struggles help her connect with clients.

“Healing happens in relation. It doesn’t happen individually, so if you know that somebody already has that experience, even though your experience can never and will never be the exact same, somebody that has walked down that path can at least empathize a little more with your journey,” she said.

But, her clients also help her heal.

“Honestly, for me, it calm my own symptoms. It’s a very Zen-like experience for me. I get in the zone, I feel the body, I feel the tissues, I know what needs to be worked on… Knowing that I’m helping others is just always a great feeling,” said Wheeldon.

Urbandale Massage Therapy is open by appointment, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. For rates and services, click here. The business will be closed on Veterans Day.