GAD-7 Anxiety Score Calculator

How the GAD-7 Score is Calculated

The GAD-7 includes seven questions, each with four response options:

• Not at all
• Several days
• More than half the days
• Nearly every day

Each response is assigned a numerical value from 0 to 3. The total GAD-7 score is the sum of all seven responses. Mathematically, this can be written as:

where:

• q1 to q7 are the scores for each question, and
• S is your total GAD-7 score.

The scoring for each option is:

• Not at all = 0 points
• Several days = 1 point
• More than half the days = 2 points
• Nearly every day = 3 points

The minimum total score is 0 (no symptoms reported), and the maximum possible score is 21 (all seven symptoms reported as occurring nearly every day).

GAD-7 Score Interpretation

Your GAD-7 score falls into one of four standard severity categories. These ranges are based on the original validation research by Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, and Löwe (2006) in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

These categories are guidelines, not strict cutoffs. People experience and express anxiety differently, and a lower score does not automatically mean everything is fine, just as a higher score does not, by itself, confirm a diagnosis.

What to Do After You Get Your Score

How you use your GAD-7 result depends on your score and your overall situation.

If your score is 0–4 (minimal anxiety)

• You may be experiencing only everyday worries or stress.
• Continue healthy habits such as regular sleep, physical activity, and social connection.
• Consider re-checking your score if your life circumstances change or if new symptoms appear.

If your score is 5–9 (mild anxiety)

• You have some anxiety symptoms, but they may still feel manageable.
• Self-care strategies (relaxation exercises, mindfulness, limiting caffeine or alcohol, consistent routines) can be helpful.
• If you find that worries are building, or if you have a history of anxiety, you may want to discuss this score with a primary care provider or mental health professional.

If your score is 10–14 (moderate anxiety)

• This range is often used as a threshold suggesting that follow-up with a clinician could be helpful.
• Professional support (such as cognitive behavioral therapy, counseling, or sometimes medication) may be recommended, depending on your full clinical picture.
• If possible, share your score and symptoms with a healthcare provider and ask about treatment options.

If your score is 15–21 (severe anxiety)

• High scores are linked with significant distress and impairment in daily life.
• Reaching out to a mental health professional, primary care doctor, or community clinic is strongly recommended.
• If anxiety is accompanied by thoughts of self-harm, feeling unable to cope, or other signs of crisis, seek urgent or emergency help right away.

If you are ever in immediate danger or having serious thoughts of harming yourself or others, contact local emergency services or a crisis hotline available in your country. Online screening tools are not designed to handle emergencies.

Worked Example of GAD-7 Scoring

To see how the scoring works in practice, imagine a person answers the GAD-7 items as follows for the past two weeks:

• Question 1 (Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge): More than half the days (2 points)
• Question 2 (Not being able to stop or control worrying): Nearly every day (3 points)
• Question 3 (Worrying too much about different things): More than half the days (2 points)
• Question 4 (Trouble relaxing): Several days (1 point)
• Question 5 (Being so restless that it is hard to sit still): Several days (1 point)
• Question 6 (Becoming easily annoyed or irritable): More than half the days (2 points)
• Question 7 (Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen): Several days (1 point)

The total score is the sum of these responses:

2 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 12

A score of 12 falls in the 10–14 range, which corresponds to moderate anxiety. In this situation, it would usually be reasonable to consider speaking with a healthcare provider about anxiety symptoms, especially if they are interfering with work, school, or relationships.

Comparison of GAD-7 Score Categories

The table below summarizes how the different GAD-7 score ranges compare in terms of symptom severity, possible impact on daily life, and typical next steps.

Limitations and Assumptions of the GAD-7

While the GAD-7 is a widely used and well-validated tool, it has important limitations and assumptions that you should keep in mind:

• Screening tool, not a diagnosis: The GAD-7 helps identify possible generalized anxiety disorder and monitor symptom severity. A formal diagnosis requires a comprehensive clinical assessment by a qualified professional.
• Two-week time frame: The questions focus on the past two weeks. If your symptoms fluctuate seasonally or in response to specific events, a single score may not fully represent your overall experience.
• Self-report and recall bias: The tool relies on your own memory and perception of symptoms. People may overestimate or underestimate their symptoms, especially if they are very distressed or have difficulty recalling how they felt over time.
• Focus on generalized anxiety: The GAD-7 is optimized for generalized anxiety disorder. It may not fully capture other anxiety-related conditions such as specific phobias, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or social anxiety disorder.
• Influence of other conditions: Depression, physical illness, chronic pain, substance use, and major life stressors can all affect GAD-7 scores. High or low scores need to be understood in the broader context of your health and life circumstances.
• Cultural and individual differences: People differ in how they experience and describe anxiety. Cultural background, language, and personal coping styles can influence how someone interprets and answers the questions.
• Not a crisis tool: The GAD-7 does not assess immediate risk, such as suicidal thoughts, self-harm, or psychosis. If you are in acute distress or crisis, you should seek urgent help rather than relying on this questionnaire.

The score ranges and interpretations used in this calculator are based on the original GAD-7 development and validation study (Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JBW, Löwe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166(10):1092–1097) and subsequent research that has confirmed its usefulness in many settings.

Using This Calculator Over Time

Many people use the GAD-7 periodically to track how their anxiety symptoms change, for example after starting therapy, medication, or new coping strategies. If you do this:

• Try to complete the questionnaire under similar conditions each time (for example, at the end of the day or on the same day of the week).
• Record your score and any major life changes or stressors that might explain shifts in symptoms.
• Share this information with your clinician if you are in treatment; it can help guide conversations about what is or is not working.

Small day-to-day changes in score are common and not always clinically meaningful. Larger or sustained changes (for example, moving from mild to severe, or from severe down to minimal) are usually more important to discuss with a professional.

When to Seek Professional Help

Regardless of your exact GAD-7 score, it may be a good idea to seek professional support if:

• You feel overwhelmed by worry or tension most days.
• Anxiety is interfering with sleep, work, school, or relationships.
• You avoid important activities, people, or places because of anxiety.
• You use alcohol, drugs, or other substances to cope with anxiety.
• You have physical symptoms (such as chest pain, shortness of breath, or palpitations) that worry you.

If you are unsure where to start, a primary care provider, community clinic, or licensed mental health professional can help assess your situation and discuss treatment options that fit your needs and preferences.