Moving On App
The free Moving On App has a range of fantastic resources that you can download onto a smart phone, tablet or even just simply view on your desktop computer.
Look for the Moving On App on the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store or click the links below.
Desktop:
https://app.moving-on.uk/
Apple:
(Apple App Store)
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/moving-on-app/id1616191176
​
Android:
(Google Play Store)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.moimr.com&gl=GB
Navigating the Moving On App
"My Sessions"
My Toolbox
We have currently have five tools in the My Toolbox section: (1) Anchor Points, (2) Leaning In, (3) Letting Go, (4) Perspective Taking, and (5) SOBER breathing. Anchor Points is a tool (described further below) that is intergrated into other sections of the App (i.e., the Check In) and is a different tool to the other four tools, which are audio recorded exercises.
​
Anchor Points
An Anchor Point is anything in your life that gives you a sense of meaning or purpose. It could be in areas of your life like family, health and fitness, work, nature, friends, hobbies, home, learning, partner and so on. For each of these areas you are asked to also consider how this area is an anchor point for you and what you might need to do to keep it secure. We also want you to consider how you want to "be" when you are acting fully in line with each anchor point. There are some examples of Anchor Points below. Note, when you do your weekly Check In (see the next section, below), it is these anchor points that we need to keep in mind. Completing a Check In each week keeps us accountable and supports us to take personal responsibility within our lives.
​
Anchor Point Examples
Anchor Point Title - Family
Anchor Point Text - My family are very important to me. I love them and they love me. I want to show them that I love them, that I care for them, that I support them, and that I will always be kind to them. With my family I want to BE LOVING, BE CARING, BE SUPPORTIVE and BE KIND.
​
Anchor Point Title - Health and Fitness
Anchor Point Text - My health and being fit is very important to me. Exercise helps me to de-stress and stay healthy. When I am fit I feel good. To support my health and fitness I want to BE ACTIVE, BE HEALTHY, BE CONSISTENT and BE COMMITTED.
​
Anchor Point Title - Work
Anchor Point Text - Work gives me a sense of meaning and purpose. It enables me to help others and to keep developing my skills. It also enables me to be financially secure. With work I want to BE HARDWORKING, BE CARING, and BE CREATIVE.
​​
Anchor Point Title - Hobbies
Anchor Point Text - My role as a coach gives me a sense of real connection and an opportunity to give back to my community. Aside of helping others, I really benefit in the process: I feel I am continually learning, I feel I making a difference, I am part of a shared journey, I have fun, I am connected to others, and I keep active. When coaching I want to BE AUTHENTIC, BE INSPIRING, and BE A TEAM MEMBER.
Other Anchor Points might be our hobbies, interests, friendships, home, pets, nature, and so on.
​
A list of valuing these anchor points might be that you choose to be accountable, adaptable, adventurous, altruistic, ambitious, authentic, balanced, the best, caring, collaborative, committed, community-focused, compassionate, competent, confident, connected, content, contributing, cooperative, courageous, creative, curious, dignified, diverse, efficient, equal, ethical, fair, faithful, forgiving, free, friendly, fun, generous, graceful grateful, healthy, helpful, honest, hopeful, humble, humorous, impactful, inclusive, independent, intuitive, just, kind, knowledgeable, a leader, a learner, loving, loyal, open, optimistic, patient, peaceful, persevering, powerful, proud, reliable, resourceful, respectful, responsible, risky, safe, secure, self-disciplined, self-respecting, serene, of service, simple, spiritual, sporty, stable, successful, a team-player, thrifty, traditional, trusting, understanding, unique, useful, vulnerable, wholehearted, wise...
​
Note that if we outline how we want to be (act in the world), when we are being our best selves, then we can check in against this during our Check In (i.e., how well did you do act this week to support your Anchor Points or the things that matter to you in a way that matters to you?). During your Check In you will be asked to consider how you lived this week separately against each of your Anchor Points.
Leaning In
"Leaning In" is a major skill in MOIMR. Typically, when we experience psychological distress (e.g., in the form of intrusive thoughts, strong unwanted emotions or intense physical sensations) then we might seek to get rid of this experience. This can be termed "experiential avoidance". This pattern in our behaviour often becomes a habit and is an automatic response to the experience of distress, even though the actual experience we are escaping from is likely to be tolerable. We have simply become conditioned to escape it. Drug and alcohol use is a common method of experiential avoidance. Ultimately, experiential avoidance works to make us feel better in the short-term but it takes us away from what matters to us in the long-term. It turns out that by leaning in - pausing to be curious about our experience and then making room for the experience, that we know will pass, allows us to make choices in line with what we want in the longer-term. The App contains a recording of how to practice the skill of leaning in.
​
Letting go
A second fundamental skill in MOIMR is "Letting Go". When you experience psychological distress your mind gets hooked into greater fear and doubt. Our mind creates a story about how bad and how intolerable our experience is. These stories become increasingly more real and elaborate and more challenging to escape. Unhooking and letting go are not obvious skills and it takes some time and effort to learn. We use visualisation skills to support this process.
Perspective Taking
The Perspective Taking tool helps you to become more flexible with your mind. It encourages you to step back from thoughts and consider these from various perspectives.
SOBER Breathing
The SOBER (Stop, Observe, Breath, Expand, Respond) Breathing tool is a well-established one. It is designed to help you to gain stability when life is difficult.
My Check In
This section of the App has two aspects: A Daily Mood Check In and also an opportunity for Checking In on a weekly basis. The Checking In function invites you to note down how you have lived your life in the last week. You will be presented with each of your Anchor Points and you will need to consider how you have supported or maintained them? In the example above, you would consider the first Anchor Point of Family - have you been loving, supportive, caring and kind this week? What have you done to support this area of your life? You note this down and then you will go to the next Anchor Point and Check In with that and so on. After you have noted down how you have lived that week you are then invited to think overall how "On track" have you been this week (e.g., off course completely, a little off course, mostly on track, or completely on track). Have you lived the life that matters to you? Have you lived according to your values? Finally, it asks you to consider the week ahead and how willing you will be to have discomfort as you move towards your Anchor Points - you are invited to make a pledge for the next week to do what matters! This section of the App is hugely important for sustained recovery: it invites us to take personal responsibility for living the life we want and it helps us to be accountable for how we have lived our life.
Vulnerability/Resiliency Model
Emotional Vulnerability
We all feel emotionally vulnerable every day. Sometimes it will be big stuff that activates it, like an argument with someone we care about but it can also be small stuff like ordering a drink in a coffee shop. Refusing to make room for our vulnerability has big costs. There are also significant benefits to embracing it. In Moving On we teach skills to lean in, make space, let go and do what matters.
Leaning In
When you are emotionally vulnerable, can you "lean in" to it? Ask yourself, where in your body do you feel it? Are there edges to it? Where do the sensations begin and where do they end?
`Make Space for the Experience
Can you simply be curious about your experience and allow it the space to be, as it is, without attempting to change it or alter it in any way? Even if you do not like it or want it, can you be with it kindly or gently? Perhaps simply take a breath to breathe into it.
Letting Go
Notice how your mind makes up a story about this experience. Perhaps it makes some unhelpful predictions or comparisons. When we feel uncomfortable our mind tends to give us a distorted view of the world, so can you unhook from this story? Just gently let go of the story. Perhaps come back to the body or maybe focus in on one or two more breaths?
Move Towards What Matters
Next, move to action. Choose to do something that really matters to you: something that aligns to what you care about. It might be simply taking care of yourself, or connecting to someone who matters to you. As you do this, you might notice that more vulnerability shows up. Your mind might tell you it will go wrong, you will be rejected or you will fail. Again, simply notice this experience, unhook from these evaluations, comments, or self-criticism. Continue to move towards what matters. Use your hands and feet to do this and then practice, practice, practice, again and again.
Our resiliency grows as we move towards our feelings of discomfort: moving towards our feelings of vulnerability is an important part of recovery.
My Challenges
In this section of the App we set a weekly challenge. These weekly challenges remain in the App so you can frequently revisit your successes over a sustained period of time. The App also gives you a helpful prompt to remember to act on your recovery-related challenges. We notice people engage in a huge number of recovery related challenges: becoming more active through exercise, eating more healthily, cleaning, decorating, gardening, stopping smoking, meeting friends, reading, writing a journal, spending quality time with family and so on.