Finding Solid Ground: Cindy Machado on Motherhood, Mental Health, and Building a Life That Fits

Written by: Marsha Knapp

Ten years ago, Cindy Machado became a mother for the first time — welcoming a baby boy who arrived just in time for Halloween. Like many parents, she remembers those early years as a blur of love, exhaustion, and learning on the fly. What most people didn’t see was that Cindy was also quietly battling an illness she didn’t yet have a name for.

For nearly three decades, Cindy lived with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), a severe cyclical mood disorder that can be debilitating and, for many, life-threatening. “I didn’t understand why half of every month felt unbearable,” she has shared openly. “I just knew something was wrong — and that I had to keep showing up anyway.”

And she did.

With diplomas in Early Childhood Education, degrees in Childhood & Social Institutions and Social Work, and nearly a decade of experience supervising Montessori and preschool programs, Cindy had always worked outside the home. But as her health declined, she reached a point many parents quietly face: the realization that pushing through was no longer sustainable. Stepping back wasn’t giving up — it was survival.

In 2019, after the birth of her second child, Cindy realized that working outside the home was no longer an option that fit her reality. In the midst of illness and uncertainty, she taught herself how to sew and launched TAB Designs, a handmade clothing and accessories business that allowed her to work from home while caring for her children. She ran the business successfully for several years — even during some of the hardest seasons of her health. “I was at my worst,” she once wrote, “and still showing up for my kids and my work.”

For eight years, Cindy lived in Ingersoll, building her life and raising her children there. She separated from her husband in 2021 and remained in their family home until 2023, when she made the decision to move back in with her parents — choosing stability, support, and space to heal during a period of major transition. It was another pivot point, and not an easy one.

That same year, Cindy began sharing her story online and formally launched Your PMDD Coach. What started as honest conversations — about PMDD, mental health, motherhood, and what actually helps — quickly resonated. Her posts balanced the serious with the practical: candid discussions about medication and stigma alongside simple, grounding reminders, like taking a magnesium bath on especially hard weeks. Small acts of care, shared with honesty, made people feel less alone.

Today, Cindy is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) and continues her professional development through ongoing education and specialized training. She supports women, mothers, and teens navigating PMDD, hormonal mood changes, neurodivergence, burnout, and trauma — offering care that is neuro-affirming, trauma-informed, and rooted in lived experience as much as clinical knowledge.

She is also registered with Victim Services to provide therapy for women and children facing domestic violence across Elgin, Middlesex, and Oxford counties through the Victim Quick Response Program (VQRP), which provides individuals with up to $1,500 toward therapy — helping reduce barriers for those seeking support.

Cindy currently works with clients virtually across Ontario, in person at the Ingersoll Wellness Hub, and hopes to expand in-person services to Dutton in the near future.

Born and raised in West Lorne, Cindy remains deeply connected to small-town life and community care. Her work reflects a genuine desire to support the places and people that shaped her — and to offer care that feels both accessible and human.

This year also marked another milestone: Cindy purchased her first home in Dutton after a period of rebuilding while living with her parents. It’s a quiet achievement, but a meaningful one — a symbol of steadiness earned through persistence and self-trust.

If there’s a throughline to Cindy Machado’s story, it’s this: she didn’t wait to feel “ready” or fully healed before contributing. She built, learned, and showed up — imperfectly, honestly, and with compassion for herself along the way.

And for many who recognize themselves in her story, that may be the most reassuring part of all.

If you see yourself in Cindy's story, or think that she might "get" yours, she would love to hear from you! Reach out for an initial consultation today: https://www.ingersollwellness.ca/cindy