GAD-7 Anxiety Calculator — Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale
Rate each of the 7 GAD-7 items on how often you have been bothered over the past two weeks. The calculator sums the scores and classifies anxiety severity from minimal to severe.
Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge
Not being able to stop or control worrying
Worrying too much about different things
Trouble relaxing
Being so restless that it is hard to sit still
Becoming easily annoyed or irritable
Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen
Total score: 0 (minimal) to 21 (severe anxiety)
- 1
Maximum possible score
7 × 3 = 217 items each rated 0–3, giving a maximum of 21. - 2
GAD-7 total score
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 7
How does this calculator work?
The GAD-7 sums 7 symptom items (each 0–3) over the past two weeks: 0–4 = minimal anxiety, 5–9 = mild, 10–14 = moderate, 15–21 = severe. A score ≥ 10 is the standard clinical cut-off for likely GAD. This is a screening tool — not a diagnosis.
Formula
How this is calculated
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) was developed by Spitzer et al. (2006) and is one of the most widely used brief anxiety screening instruments in primary care and research. Each of the seven items asks how often over the past two weeks the respondent has been bothered by a symptom of anxiety, rated on a 4-point Likert scale: 0 (Not at all), 1 (Several days), 2 (More than half the days), or 3 (Nearly every day). The item scores are summed to produce a total between 0 and 21.
Score interpretation follows the validated thresholds: 0–4 = minimal anxiety; 5–9 = mild; 10–14 = moderate; 15–21 = severe. A score of 10 or above is often used as a cut-point warranting further evaluation. The scale has strong sensitivity (89%) and specificity (82%) for GAD at a threshold of 10 in primary care populations (Spitzer et al., 2006, Archives of Internal Medicine).
This calculator is a self-report screening tool and does not constitute a clinical diagnosis. GAD-7 scores are influenced by sleep, physical health, substance use, and other factors. A high score indicates that a conversation with a healthcare professional is worthwhile — it does not confirm an anxiety disorder. The scale should be administered over a consistent reference period (past 2 weeks) for valid results.
Frequently asked questions
A score of 10 or above is the commonly used clinical cut-off for likely Generalised Anxiety Disorder, with sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 82% in primary-care studies. Scores of 5, 10, and 15 mark the mild, moderate, and severe thresholds respectively.
No. The GAD-7 is a validated screening instrument, not a diagnostic test. A high score indicates elevated anxiety symptoms that warrant further clinical assessment by a qualified professional — it cannot alone confirm or rule out an anxiety disorder.
In clinical practice it is often used at baseline and repeated every 2–4 weeks to monitor treatment response. For personal tracking, monthly administration over the same "past 2 weeks" window is reasonable; more frequent repetition may not reflect true change and introduces recall overlap.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). GAD-7 Anxiety Calculator — Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/gad-7-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "GAD-7 Anxiety Calculator — Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/gad-7-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "GAD-7 Anxiety Calculator — Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/gad-7-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_gad_7_calculator, title = {GAD-7 Anxiety Calculator — Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/gad-7-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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