Think things through
If you're going through anything, instead of trying to ignore it, plan how you're going to deal with it. Start to make a solid plan and stick with it, no matter what. Don't be indecisive!
Get orgasmic
Whatever your preferred way (as long as everyone involved is on the same page and excited about what’s going to happen) get to it! Those natural endorphin's are fantastic anti-thought and anti-stress chemicals.
Added benefit: you can probably help someone else feel great while you’re at it ;)
Dance
Turn up the radio and let the vibrations steal your thoughts as they flow into your ears and out your limbs through movement. It doesn’t matter if you “suck at dancing” — this method is more about the vibes and the beat. Stop thinking and start feeling.
Get or give a massage
An hour long massage can made a huge, positive difference in the rest of my week.
Your awareness of your body increases during and after the massage, and those kinks you’ve been holding are often a result of over-thinking throughout the rest of your day. Work out the kink, and you’ve begun working out the physical manifestation of your overworked brain.
Climb a mountain
There are few things that beat the feeling you get from exercising so grab a bottle of water and some nuts, find a path, and take an afternoon hike. Even if you only get to a vista, you’ll gain a new perspective on your surroundings and give your body a chance to breathe, sweat, and get “high”.
Best if taken literally, you can also use this method in a metaphorical way to get out of your head. Pin-pointing your focus on an immediate challenge will naturally take you away from whatever is clouding your mind, replacing a busy, worried head with a sense of purpose and a well-earned sense of accomplishment when you complete your task.
Run until your legs can’t carry you
This ties in with my last point. This can be applied to any sport, as long as you’re actively pushing yourself the entire way through. Besides getting a blast of those feel-good endorphins from your runner’s high, if you do this properly you’ll be more focused on breathing and the pain in your legs than on any whirring or stirring in your head.
In the end, you might feel sore, but you’ll have had a break from the stress your thoughts can create.
Obvious bonus: if done often enough, you’ll whittle your body into even better shape.
Pet an animal
This might sound a little silly, but it really does help. You already know that hospitals use pets to calm patients, and in Japan (and New Zealand :D, I don't know about other countries so please say if you know of one in your country) there is actually such thing as a “cat café”, where customers enjoy coffee and tea in the company of cute kittens to de-stress! I've been to one near me and it really does help, all the cats they have there are rescue cats too :)
Why not turn to a furry animal and shift your focus from your own mind to their happiness, petting them until you’re rewarded with purring and some unconditional love? You’ll get that warm-and-fuzzy feeling and make a friend in the process.
Meditate
I’ll admit, it’s extremely difficult at times, but once you get into the flow, meditation will be your best go-to resource to quiet your mind.
It’s best to start simply by focusing your mental energy on following your breath, bringing air deeply into your lungs, holding for a few seconds, and then slowly releasing the air back out.
Tip: visualize breathing through the point at the very tip of your nose as you breathe in for a more actively oxygenated experience.
Help someone out
Probably the very best way to get out of your own head and forget your own little stories, helping someone else with their issues can change your perspective on your own situation. And of course, it also makes a positive difference in that person’s life at the same time!
You often learn useful lessons by working with someone through their problems (because we all know how hard it is to help ourselves sometimes), and later, you can use your experience with their situation and apply those lessons in your own life.
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