What the GAD-7 measures
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) was developed by Drs. Robert Spitzer, Kurt Kroenke, Janet Williams and colleagues as a quick check for anxiety. Its seven questions cover the core experiences of generalized anxiety: feeling nervous or on edge, worry you can't stop or control, worrying about many different things, trouble relaxing, restlessness, irritability, and a sense that something awful might happen.
It asks how often each symptom has bothered you over the last two weeks. The GAD-7 was built to screen for generalized anxiety disorder, and research has found it also picks up symptoms common in panic disorder, social anxiety, and PTSD. It cannot tell those conditions apart.
How the GAD-7 is scored
Each answer is worth points: Not at all = 0, Several days = 1, More than half the days = 2, and Nearly every day = 3. This page adds up your seven answers for a total between 0 and 21, then places it in one of four published severity ranges: minimal (0–4), mild (5–9), moderate (10–14), and severe (15–21).
A total of 10 or higher is the point clinicians most often use to suggest a fuller evaluation for an anxiety disorder.
What a screening can't tell you
A GAD-7 score is not a diagnosis. Some anxiety is a normal response to stress, and only a licensed clinician can tell whether what you are feeling fits an anxiety disorder.
- Physical causes can look like anxiety, including thyroid problems, heart rhythm problems, too much caffeine, and some medications. Chest pain, a racing heart, or shortness of breath should be checked by a medical provider.
- The GAD-7 does not look in detail at specific fears, panic attacks, or obsessions and compulsions.
- Your answers reflect the last two weeks only, so a stressful stretch can raise them.
When to talk to a therapist
Consider reaching out if your score is 10 or higher, if worry is hard to switch off on most days, or if anxiety is shaping your choices: avoiding places, people, or tasks, losing sleep, or feeling on edge at work or at home. You don't need a high score to benefit from therapy.
Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health conditions, and they are treatable. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has strong research support for anxiety, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is another approach used across our team. Your therapist will explain their approach in plain language and set goals with you.