Dr. Chilukuri Raviteja's Psychiatry Practice
Understanding Your Anxiety with the GAD-7 Self-Assessment
What is the GAD-7?
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale is a self-assessment tool developed by Dr. Robert Spitzer and colleagues. It’s used to screen for and measure the severity of generalized anxiety disorder. The GAD-7 is a brief and effective questionnaire that helps people reflect on how much anxiety has impacted them over the past two weeks.
Once you complete the questionnaire, the scores are added up to give you a total score that reflects your anxiety level.
Disclaimer
The GAD-7 is a self-assessment tool intended for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment. If you are experiencing significant anxiety or mental health concerns, please seek advice from a healthcare provider.
Ready to take the test?
How to Interpret Your GAD-7 Score:
After completing the GAD-7, you’ll get a score between 0 and 21, with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety.
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Minimal Anxiety (0-4): Your anxiety levels are low, and you may not be experiencing significant anxiety symptoms.
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Mild Anxiety (5-9): You’re experiencing mild anxiety, but it might not be significantly impacting your daily life.
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Moderate Anxiety (10-14): Your anxiety is moderate, and it may be affecting how you function.
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Severe Anxiety (15-21): Your anxiety is severe, and it’s likely interfering with daily activities. Seeking professional support may be helpful.
Why Use the GAD-7?
The GAD-7 is an easy-to-use tool that allows you to quickly assess your anxiety level. It’s widely used by healthcare professionals, but you can also take it at home to reflect on how much anxiety has affected you in recent weeks.
Attribution:
The GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) scale was developed by Dr. Robert L. Spitzer, Janet B. W. Williams, Kurt Kroenke, and colleagues, with an educational grant from Pfizer Inc. The scale is widely used in clinical practice and research to assess the severity of generalized anxiety disorder. For more information, please refer to the original publication: Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Löwe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:1092-1097.