What does a GAD-7 score mean?
If somebody has given you a GAD-7 score and not explained it, put it in below. This reads it against the instrument's own published table. You do not have to take anything.
The full published table
These ranges come from the instrument's own scoring documentation rather than from us. They describe groups of people, not individuals.
| Score | Interpretation | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 4 | Minimal Anxiety | Symptoms are below the clinical threshold. No specific action required. |
| 5 – 9 | Mild Anxiety | Sub-clinical anxiety. The user may benefit from stress-reduction techniques, mindfulness, and lifestyle adjustments. |
| 10 – 14 | Moderate Anxiety | Clinically significant anxiety. A score of 10 or greater warrants a further clinical evaluation by a physician or therapist. |
| 15 – 21 | Severe Anxiety | High probability of a formal anxiety disorder diagnosis. Pharmacotherapy and/or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) are strongly indicated. |
Why a number on its own is not much use
A total tells you where a set of answers landed on a scale. It does not say which questions produced it, and two people reaching the same total can be having quite different weeks. A score driven by sleep and appetite is not the same as an identical score driven by hopelessness, and the difference changes what tends to help.
A score near the edge of a range is also less meaningful than the label makes it sound. Thresholds are drawn to be useful across a population, not to mark a real line between two states, so a point either way can change the word without changing the person.
If you would rather answer the questions
The GAD-7 is available here in full, free and without an account, and answering it gives you the breakdown a bare total cannot: take the GAD-7.