Anxiety test (GAD-7)
This is a screening check-in, not a diagnosis. Only a clinician can tell you whether it's an anxiety disorder.
7 questions about the last 2 weeks, about 2 minutes. Your answers stay in your browser.
- Questions
- Result
Question 1 of 7
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems?
Your total, from 0 to 21
Seven answers, each worth 0 to 3, add up to a total between 0 and 21.1 The GAD-7's authors draw their lines at 5, 10 and 15, for mild, moderate and severe anxiety.1
| Score | Band |
|---|---|
| 0 to 4 | Below the mild range |
| 5 to 9 | Mild |
| 10 to 14 | Moderate |
| 15 to 21 | Severe |
The authors give the range under 5 no name, so the table only places it.
For screening, 10 is the line to know. It's where the authors recommend a clinician take a closer look.1
A total of 10 or more picked up 89% of people with generalized anxiety disorder in the study that introduced the scale, and correctly cleared 82% of the people who didn't have it.2 1 The scale was built for that one disorder, yet it flags panic disorder, social anxiety and PTSD moderately well too.1
What a number can't show is where the anxiety comes from, so a clinician will also look at other causes, such as a physical illness, a medicine or another drug.1 A low total isn't an all-clear either. If anxiety is getting in the way of your days, see a doctor whatever you scored.
Your result starts with the questions you answered "Not at all". They also help a doctor see what's holding steady, as well as what isn't.
Taking the number to an appointment
Primary care is a good first stop. Print the summary at the end of the check-in, or take a screenshot, and you could open with: "I took the GAD-7 and scored 11. Can we talk about it?"
If you feel unsafe, call or text 988 at any time.
Why I put this check-in here
Thirteen years ago I had a severe anxiety crisis. I didn't understand what anxiety was, and I thought it was my fault. Working with a mental health professional is what helped me see it wasn't.
This check-in is for an earlier step. It puts a number on how often anxiety shows up, privately, in about two minutes, so you have something concrete to bring to that first conversation.
Where the GAD-7 came from
Robert Spitzer, Kurt Kroenke, Janet Williams and Bernd Löwe published the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale in 2006.2 They developed it with 2,740 adults in 15 primary care clinics across the United States, and 965 of those adults also had a phone interview with a mental health professional, the yardstick the scale was checked against.2 Its answer options match those of the PHQ-9 depression test, and clinics often give the two together.1
Nothing on this version is reworded. On October 29, 2026 we held the seven questions, the four answer options, the 2-week time frame and the scoring up against the publisher's English form, line by line. The one thing missing is the paper form's instruction to tick a box, since here you tap.
Pfizer, which hosts the PHQ and GAD-7 screeners, puts the license in one sentence: "All PHQ, GAD-7 screeners and translations are downloadable from this website and no permission is required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute them."3
The scale was validated in adults.2
Your total is added up by your own browser, on your phone or computer. We don't store the answers and they aren't sent to us or to anyone else. This page loads no ad tag, and the Vercel Web Analytics that counts visits to the site never sees what you picked.
Which of the seven questions felt most true this week? Write about one moment when it showed up: where you were, and what went through your mind.
Answer this with JoyQuestions people ask
Is this anxiety test free?
Yes. There's no sign-up, no email and no locked result. The full score and band show as soon as you answer the last question.
What is a normal GAD-7 score?
The scale has no line marked "normal". What it has are the authors' three cut points, and a total under 5 sits below the first of them.1
Can the GAD-7 tell if I have panic attacks?
Not directly. Its questions are about worry, nerves and restlessness, and none of them asks about panic attacks themselves.1 Tell your doctor about any sudden episodes of intense fear, whatever your score.
How often can I take it?
As often as you find useful. Scores can go up and down, and the GAD-7 has picked up change in several depression treatment trials.1 Nothing is saved here, so print or screenshot each result if you want to compare.
What's the difference between this and the GAD-2?
The GAD-2 is the first two GAD-7 questions on their own. A GAD-2 score of 3 or more is the usual signal to take the full GAD-7.1
Related
- Depression test (PHQ-9): the sister scale from the same authors.
- PTSD test (PC-PTSD-5): if the anxiety started after a frightening event.
- Understanding anxiety.
- Thought record: a way to look at one worry on paper, with a separate path for worries about the future.