How to Handle Stress and Risk! A Guide to Self-Management and Smart Decision-Making for Success How to Handle Stress and Risk! helps upper elementary and middle school students understand how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors influence the choices they make-especially when life feels stressful or uncertain. As part of the Galactic Growth series, this interactive book blends social-emotional learning with personal finance concepts to give students practical tools for navigating real-world challenges. Through engaging stories, colorful illustrations, and hands-on activities, students explore how stress affects the brain and body, how emotions can shape behavior, and how risk shows up in everyday life. Using the TFB model (Thoughts-Feelings-Behaviors)-a student-friendly version of cognitive behavioral strategies-learners practice recognizing emotional reactions, managing stress responses, and making safer, more thoughtful decisions. The book also introduces students to key risk-management strategies, including sharing, avoiding, reducing, retaining, and transferring risk, with clear real-life examples tied to health, property, transportation, and financial choices. A dedicated section on insurance helps students understand how people plan ahead to protect themselves from major financial setbacks. Aligned with the CASEL Social-Emotional Learning framework and the National Standards for Personal Financial Education, How to Handle Stress and Risk! supports students in building confidence, resilience, and responsible decision-making skills. This book is ideal for: Classroom social-emotional learning and personal finance instruction Homeschool and small-group learning Counseling, life-skills, and advisory programs Independent learners building emotional awareness and financial responsibility How to Handle Stress and Risk! empowers students to slow down, think clearly, and make choices that protect both their well-being and their future.