Educational guide

GAD-7 Explained: What Each Question Means & How Scores Work

The GAD-7 is a short, widely used questionnaire for checking in on anxiety. It asks seven questions about how often worry and tension have been bothering you over the past two weeks. This guide walks through what each question is really asking, how the scoring works, and what the levels tend to mean — in plain language.

Important to know first

A screening questionnaire is not a diagnosis. Only a qualified health professional can diagnose anxiety or any other condition. The GAD-7 is a snapshot that helps you and a professional talk about what you're experiencing.

01The seven questions, one by one

Each question asks how often you've been bothered by a symptom over the past two weeks, on a 0–3 scale: not at all (0), several days (1), more than half the days (2), nearly every day (3).

Question 1 · NervousnessFeeling nervous, anxious, or on edgeThe core experience of anxiety — a persistent sense of tension, jumpiness, or being keyed up that's hard to switch off.

Question 2 · Worry controlNot being able to stop or control worryingWorry that keeps looping even when you try to stop it — the feeling that your mind is running on its own.

Question 3 · Worrying too muchWorrying too much about different thingsConcern that spreads across many topics — health, money, family, work — rather than staying focused on one real problem.

Question 4 · RelaxationTrouble relaxingFinding it hard to unwind — physically or mentally — even in situations where it should feel safe to let go.

Question 5 · RestlessnessBeing so restless that it is hard to sit stillA physical restlessness, pacing or fidgeting, driven by internal agitation rather than ordinary activity levels.

Question 6 · IrritabilityBecoming easily annoyed or irritableA short fuse — small frustrations feel much bigger, and patience runs out quickly.

Question 7 · FearFeeling afraid, as if something awful might happenA sense of looming dread or danger that you can't quite pin to anything specific.

Question 8 — functional impact

The MoodCheck anxiety check also asks how much these feelings have gotten in the way of work, home, or relationships. That question isn't added to the score — it adds context about how much the symptoms are affecting your daily life, which is exactly the kind of information that helps a doctor understand your situation.

02How scoring works

The seven questions are each scored 0–3, so the total runs from 0 to 21. Higher totals suggest more anxiety symptoms. MoodCheck groups the total into four levels:

Total score	Level	What it tends to mean
0–4	None / minimal	Few or no signs of anxiety in the past two weeks.
5–9	Mild	Some anxiety symptoms. Many people feel this from time to time; worth keeping an eye on.
10–14	Moderate	Symptoms are noticeable and may be affecting daily life. A conversation with a professional is a reasonable next step.
15–21	Severe	Many symptoms, most days. Please seek professional support as soon as you can.

Scores are a guide, not a verdict. Two people with the same score can feel very different, and how much the symptoms interfere with your life matters as much as the number.

03What to do next

Take the free MoodCheck anxiety self-test — it takes about three minutes, and your results never leave your device.
Also check in on low mood with the PHQ-9 mood self-test — anxiety and low mood often travel together.
Learn how to bring your results to a doctor and talk about how you've been feeling.
Explore self-care ideas and free support resources.

If you need help right now

Your safety comes first. If you're in immediate danger, call your local emergency number (911, 112, 999, 000…).

If you're struggling but not in immediate danger, free crisis lines are available: 988 in the US (call or text), 116 123 in the UK & Ireland, and findahelpline.com lists free local helplines in 130+ countries.