FREDERICK — When Arielle Jordan was 17 years old, she signed up to join the military.
She served a total of 9 years between the Army and the reserves.
“I wanted to have a better life, so I decided what better thing to do than join the military," said Jordan.
However, her time in the Army wasn’t smooth sailing. She experienced racism.
“One of my sergeants was upset with another sergeant and he used the N word. And he used it with the ed on the end," said Jordan.
While serving she dealt with traumatic life events.
Her daughter Jordyn had a terminal illness called pulmonary vein stenosis. She died when she was just 18 months old.
“So, when I lost my daughter, I also lost my father and I also was starting a divorce process all in the same year, within months of each other. So, that was the hardest hit I’ve ever taken.”
To make matters worse, she injured her shoulder and was left having to pay for it initially out of pocket.
All of her pain caused her to have anxiety and just a year before she left the military, she was diagnosed with PTSD.
Once out, she went to college to study psychology.
She eventually got a job at Walter Reed.
“Now, I’m working with active-duty soldiers, so that’s when I started to find my groove here. I noticed there were a lot of black and brown soldiers coming to me," said Jordan.
Jordan now has her own practice. As a trauma specialist, she works with veterans and first responders dealing with trauma.
“I do know if they work at it with the things that we talk about in that session, they will get better. So, I reassure them that, but i also tell them it’s not linear, so sometimes yo may feel like it’s going good, and then it’s a dip.”
Jordan has authored two books. Her latest book is called "United We Serve, United We Heal." This book talks about how to heal after dealing with racial trauma.