Moo Deng is a viral internet sensation stealing the hearts of many for her cute appearance and aggressive playfulness.
She is a pygmy hippo at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Si Racha, Chonburi, Thailand.
Many on social media are trying to emulate Moo Deng’s appearance through makeup tutorials and fashionable outfits. Her plump pink cheeks and glossy skin are adored by her fans.
While her contributions to the beauty and fashion world can’t be ignored, Moo Deng’s rageful outbursts might be her most iconic and viral moments.
Moo Deng’s rage-filled outbursts have gone viral on social media and are often turned into edits.
Despite her being full of rage, she also has her calm moments. Pygmy hippos are nocturnal and sleep many hours of the day.
Tuning in to the 24/7 hippopotamus livestream run by the zoo allows Moo Deng’s fans to witness her behavior during all hours of the day.
Comments under rage edits of Moo Deng on tiktok often feature jokes about her being, “mad and moisturized.” She is yin and yang, a perfect balance of peace and rage.
That balance should be another trend for people to follow, especially for stressed out college students.
Gallup conducted a survey with over 2,000 college student participants and found that 66% of students experienced stress daily.
With the majority of college students experiencing stress, achieving peace might be hard sometimes. Especially when people tell you just to take a deep breath, or even worse, when people say to just “calm down.”
When big exams, midterms, finals, or college transfer applications are due, stress levels rise high. Sometimes you might just want to channel your inner Moo Deng and disrespect your surroundings.
Channeling stress and aggression in safe and controlled ways has benefits for improving mental health and lowering stress levels.
One of the best ways of relieving built up frustrations due to stress is boxing. Boxing offers mood enhancement, cortisol regulation and improved sleep.
Perhaps one of the most Moo Deng-like activities for releasing tension and stress is going to a rage room.
Rage rooms provide personal protective equipment and a room full of objects to destroy with instruments such as baseball bats to destroy items in said room.
A blog by Anthony Bennet explores the psychological reasons why rage rooms are beneficial for stress release.
Rage rooms offer sensory stimulation which triggers the brain’s reward center. This potentially leads to reduction in stress levels.
However, Bennet said he does not advise rage rooms to be used as a long term stress management activity.
A more tame and accessible stress relief method is progressive muscle relaxation, which is a technique for anxiety and stress. It involves tensing up a part of the body and then releasing the tension.
Now for the tame side of Moo Deng, regular sleep helps to reduce cortisol levels. Getting an adequate amount of sleep allows for cortisol levels to decrease.
While there are many methods to reduce stress, if things get too overwhelming and you are at the point of crisis, please seek professional help immediately.
The California Department of Public Health offers a comprehensive list of hotlines to call for mental support.
Other support resources are offered through the Citrus College wellness center. Students are allotted up to eight mental health appointments per semester.
Being a college student is one of the most stressful walks of life. External and internal pressures are overwhelming, but there are ways to cope.
Channel your inner Moo Deng.
