Anxiety test

Yes. Your GAD-7 score (0–21) and your severity tier (minimal / mild / moderate / severe) are entirely free and sign-up free. Your answers stay in your browser until you request the premium report — no data is shared with third parties. The detailed report with dimension interpretation, differential, and personalised recommendations is premium.

About 10 minutes. The full test runs 27 base items (5-item context chapter, 7 GAD-7 core items, 5-item life-impact chapter + 2 impact-context items, 8-item differential chapter on depression / panic / social anxiety / post-traumatic stress) plus up to 4 conditional follow-up items that fire only if specific gates trigger — so 27 to 31 questions total depending on your answers. You can navigate back at any time and pause.

No. It's a screening tool based on the GAD-7. A diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder can only be made by a qualified health professional (primary-care doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist) after a clinical interview that assesses symptom duration (DSM-5-TR requires ≥ 6 months), functional impairment, and differential diagnoses. This test gives you a strong or weak signal — only a full assessment can confirm GAD.

The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) is a brief self-report screening instrument for generalized anxiety, published by Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams and Löwe in 2006 in Archives of Internal Medicine. Each of its 7 items uses a 4-point Likert scale (0–3) covering the last 2 weeks. The total score ranges 0–21. It is © Pfizer Inc., free for clinical, research, and educational use.

Per Spitzer et al. (2006), the standard GAD-7 severity bands for generalized anxiety are: 0–4 minimal, 5–9 mild, 10–14 moderate, 15–21 severe. The recommended cutoff for clinical concern is ≥ 10 — at this threshold, sensitivity for generalized anxiety disorder is 89% and specificity is 82% (Spitzer 2006).

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterised by chronic, excessive worry across multiple topics, more days than not for ≥ 6 months. Panic disorder features discrete attacks of intense fear with strong physical symptoms. Social anxiety disorder targets fear of others' judgment in social situations. Post-traumatic stress follows exposure to a traumatic event. Treatments overlap but differ — that's why this generalized anxiety test includes a differential chapter.

Spitzer et al. (2006) reported a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 82% for generalized anxiety disorder at the ≥ 10 cutoff (N = 2 740 primary-care patients, vs structured interview). Plummer et al. (2016, General Hospital Psychiatry) meta-analysis of 12 studies reported pooled sensitivity 83% and specificity 84% across diverse populations. Strong for a 7-item self-report — still a screening, not a diagnosis.

Yes. The GAD-7 is one of the most common tools for monitoring evolution of generalized anxiety symptoms during clinical follow-up — typically every 2 to 4 weeks while in treatment. Outside of clinical follow-up, retaking the test on a tight loop on your own is not advised: it tends to feed rumination more than clarity. Previous answers aren't compared automatically; each session is atomic.

If your GAD-7 score is in the severe range (15–21), the next step is a consultation with your primary-care doctor or a mental-health professional (psychiatrist, psychologist). Generalized anxiety responds well to evidence-based treatment — cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the first-line treatment per NIMH and NHS guidance, and SSRIs or SNRIs are also commonly used in pharmacotherapy. The right choice depends on your situation and is best discussed with your clinician. You can print your results to kick off the conversation.

A clinician confirms generalized anxiety disorder by interviewing you against the DSM-5-TR (or ICD-11) criteria: excessive worry more days than not for ≥ 6 months, hard to control, with ≥ 3 associated symptoms (restlessness, fatigue, concentration trouble, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance) and clinically significant impairment — and by ruling out medical causes and other anxiety disorders. NIMH and the ADAA both recommend starting with primary care; the NHS uses similar pathways.