Andrea Banks

My name is Andrea and I am a she/her.

I’m a 34 year old communicator, optimist, and mama to two young kiddos in Ottawa. I have a passion for community, and supporting mental health.  No stranger to chronic pain, I’ve suffered from chronic migraines since the age of nine. After moving away for school I began to experience widespread pain and burning in my limbs and after many years of searching for a diagnosis and experimenting with different treatments I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia at the young age of 21.

My invisible illness changed my life. My social life and relationship suffered, and I sank into a dark place for a few years. After meeting my (now) husband who introduced me to Muay Thai kickboxing and helped me develop a passion for moving my body, I discovered new tools to manage my flare ups and learned to speak up about my illness.

Over the course of a decade I’ve found numerous  techniques that have helped me cope with my chronic pain including yoga, meditation, massage and chiropractic care. I felt stable and fairly confident in managing my flare ups. And then I had children. 

Pregnancy and motherhood are tough enough on their own, but add in chronic pain and it becomes even more of a challenge. When my son was eight months old I sank into a deep depression, and had to learn how to treat my mental health and chronic pain all over again. 

Now on my second maternity leave (this time with a daughter!) I am passionate about helping other women regain their equilibrium after becoming parents, and continue to work on finding it myself. I believe that mothers also need to be mothered, and supporting their mental health and well-being is key to building a stronger world.

I am thrilled to join the Femade board and work with their community to continue to support women’s physical and mental health.