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Self-checks

GAD-7 anxiety screening

The original GAD-7 questionnaire, a widely used anxiety screening tool, so you can compare the past two weeks against its published scoring bands.

2-4 minutes7 questions

Answer based on the past two weeks, thinking about how often each statement has applied, not just on your worst day. The GAD-7 is a short, widely used screening questionnaire with seven items. Choose whichever option feels closest to your actual experience for each one.

Worry and controlRestlessness and irritabilityPhysical tension and dread

The GAD-7 is a validated screening tool for generalized anxiety, not a diagnostic instrument. It does not identify panic disorder, social anxiety or obsessive-compulsive patterns on their own, and a diagnosis needs a clinical conversation that also rules out physical causes such as thyroid problems or excess caffeine. If anxiety is disrupting your daily life, or if you also notice low mood, consider a doctor or mental health professional; if you ever have thoughts of self-harm, seek help immediately rather than relying on this result.

Keep the same two weeks in mind

Using a fixed window for every question stops one stressful afternoon from outweighing how the rest of the period has actually felt.

What the GAD-7 covers

Seven items ask about worry, restlessness, irritability and physical tension, each scored by how often it has occurred in the past two weeks.

A total, read as a signal

The score is a screening signal, not proof of a disorder. Pair it with how your daily functioning actually feels before drawing conclusions.

Seven items, added into one total

Each item is scored from not at all to nearly every day, and the seven scores are added into a total from 0 to 21, compared against the published cutoffs below. The GAD-7 was designed as a quick screen for generalized anxiety, the pattern of excessive, hard-to-control worry across many areas of life, rather than a single fear or a specific trigger.

Worry with no clear off switch

Generalized anxiety tends to move between subjects: work one day, health the next, family finances after that, without settling anywhere for long. If your worry instead centers on one specific trigger, such as flying, needles or a particular social situation, a different kind of screening tool would describe your experience more accurately than this one.

Reading this alongside daily life in Vietnam

Expats and long-term residents sometimes attribute racing thoughts or tension to visa deadlines, work permits or being far from family support, and that context is worth naming to a clinician rather than assuming it explains everything. International clinics in Vietnam's major cities can take this screening result as a starting point for a fuller conversation, alongside sleep, caffeine intake and recent life changes.

Before you start

Does a high GAD-7 score mean I have an anxiety disorder?

No. The GAD-7 screens for symptoms; it does not diagnose. A high score is a reasonable prompt to see a doctor or mental health professional, who will consider physical causes, other anxiety patterns and daily functioning before reaching any conclusion.

How is this different from a general anxiety self-check?

The GAD-7 is a fixed, validated seven-item questionnaire with officially published cutoffs. A broader self-check with original questions, such as the one on this site, can explore more angles of anxiety but does not produce a clinically validated score.

Can I use this to track anxiety over time?

Some clinics reuse the GAD-7 every few weeks during treatment to see whether scores are trending down. You can do the same for your own tracking, but treat a rising trend or a persistently high score as a reason to talk to a clinician, not just to retest again.