Guide to Using the Stella App for Menopause Help | Stella
Long-term health
6 mins

A guide to using the Stella app

byDr. Kate Bunyan

Menopause symptoms can leave you feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and downright desperate at times. The Stella menopause app is here to help you and uses personalized exercises and psychological techniques to get habits to stick, improving your health now and in the future. We’re a friend in your pocket that you can trust during this phase of your life. 

Your Stella plan – getting started

When you download Stella, we begin by asking you which symptoms are affecting your life. We use this information to tailor your plan and focus on your top three most bothersome symptoms. We explain why symptoms are happening and what can help. These could include tips, techniques, and habits in easy-to-understand sessions. If your symptoms change, your plan can adapt.

Stella helps new habits become part of your daily routine with proven techniques, such as:

  • Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)
  • Stress management 
  • Mindfulness
  • Pelvic floor physiotherapy, and more

We help you make small lifestyle changes that can make a big difference to menopause symptoms and also reduce the risk of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dementia.

When you open the app, your Today screen will show you which sessions to do in your plan and suggest other things to explore. To see your plan, just click on Plan at the bottom of the app screen.

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Coaching that motivates you

You can chat privately with a trained coach who is an empathetic listener. They will cheer you on and yet understand the ups and downs of menopause and lifestyle change. They are a real person, not a chatbot, and they are here to help you set and stay on track with your achievable goals. 

Your coach will:

  • Empower you to make long-term lifestyle changes to feel better
  • Share tips for creating healthier habits
  • Direct you to relevant resources and help you use the app
  • Keep you updated on relevant events and group coaching sessions 
  • Act as cheerleaders, motivators and accountability buddies 
  • Support with any technical issues
  • Help you change plans when needed
  • Check in with how you are getting on with your plan  

There is no need to worry about coaching feeling intrusive. You can set the level of interaction to suit you. Some people only want their coach to answer their questions, while others want coaches to ask how they are getting on regularly.

Why use a coach?

Our research shows that you are three times more likely to finish your plan if you use your coach. Why is this important? 80% of people feel better and 75% report improved symptoms when they complete a Stella plan.

You can message your coach within the app through coach chat, which you can find by tapping Chat to a coach. It is a rolling chat and you can scroll through the message history if you need reminding about something.

We also hold group coaching sessions to help you learn more about the techniques in your plan. They are hosted by an expert in behavior change and you can hear from other Stella users about their experiences. Your coach will let you know when the next one is being held. You never need to feel alone during menopause with Stella.

“I just wasn’t as effective and couldn’t balance different things. I now have strategies to manage symptoms and struggle to remember life before Stella. My coach has been amazing. Stella is a pocket of loveliness through the chaos of menopause.”

Emma, 49

Fitting healthier habits into your life

Each session in your Stella plan recommends a new habit to help your symptoms. Stella has more than 60 habits to choose from, such as keeping a worry diary, creating a wind-down routine, being more active or paced breathing. All the habits Stella recommends are scientifically proven to work. 

Our coaches recommend pairing your habit with something you already do routinely. Use the app to schedule your habits using our reminder system because life often gets busy! You can use Stella to:

  • Set which days of the week you want to do your habits
  • Choose the time to do them
  • Set a trigger reminder of when to do them, such as after breakfast

To find your habits, click Today at the bottom of the app screen. Under Today’s habits, click “See all” to view your complete list of habits. You can edit them or add more.

We will send you a notification on your phone to remind you to do your habit. Make sure you have your notifications turned on! Avoid feeling overwhelmed by only adding a few habits at first and making them part of your routine before adding more. Remember, lifestyle change is hard and you may forget to do your new habits or struggle to keep up. That’s ok. It takes practice and persistence until it happens as automatically as brushing your teeth.

Find inspiration and learn more about menopause

At the bottom of the app screen, you can click on Learn to explore our menopause resources, including:

  • Articles – useful information about all things menopause so you can understand the science behind the headlines
  • Menopause experiences – reading other people’s menopause stories can be reassuring and help you feel less alone
  • Recipes – boost your nutrition with our menopause-friendly meal plans
  • Symptom glossary and treatment library – find everything you need to know
  • Exercises – give our classes a try, from strength training to yoga
  • Events – watch and join our Q&As with experts
  • Community questions – get your burning questions answered

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Progress tracking

The Wellbeing check-in tracks how you are feeling beyond everything menopause every week. The Symptom check-in asks you to rate your symptoms when you first download the app and every time you reach a milestone in your plan.

Mindfulness & community

If you are rolling your eyes at meditation and mindfulness, we understand. It can be tough to sit in the present moment when your mind is racing with to-do lists. But, science proves that it can help reduce stress, which can worsen many menopause symptoms from mood swings to hot flashes and sleep. Long-term, stress leaves you in a permanent state of fight or flight, affecting how often and severe your symptoms are.

It does take a bit of practice and for help, scroll to the bottom of the app screen and click on SOS. You can choose which of the following symptoms you want help with:

Whether you have just a few minutes or more time, Stella’s SOS has a range of things to help you feel calmer, energized or focused, including:

  • Breathing exercises and meditations
  • Stories to help you nod off or get back to sleep
  • Sounds, from waterfalls to crackling campfires
  • Specially composed music tracks

Supportive community

Interact with our experts by submitting a question to Community or you can join in our Q&A events with experts. Our group coaching sessions are a great way to interact with other Stella users and get direct support with your plan’s techniques and habits.

ORCHA approved

With more and more healthcare support moving to apps, it can be a real challenge to know which of the many apps you can trust. ORCHA is the organisation that approves health apps for global health organisations.

The Stella app is officially certified by ORCHA. We are approved to be part of the ORCHA health app library recommended by the American College of Physicians, among others. 

Why is this a big deal? ORCHA assesses against clinical standards and regulations, data and privacy, usability, and accessibility so the apps they certify can be recommended confidently by healthcare professionals.

Final word

We hope you enjoy using Stella. If you experience any issues using the app, drop your coach a message or email us at hello@onstella.com.

Find out more about menopause on our blog or in our symptoms library.

See what treatments are right for you

  • App-based personalised lifestyle plan
  • Supportive coaching to motivate you
  • Medical review & online doctor appointments