Anxiety test (GAD-7): free, two minutes, nothing stored
Free anxiety test. Seven questions. Two minutes. Nothing stored.
Is this anxiety, or is this just how you are?
The replay, at 2am, of a conversation that ended at 4pm. The Sunday that starts going wrong on Saturday afternoon. "I'm fine", said three times before lunch, every time to someone you like.
This is the GAD-7: the seven question anxiety screen clinicians use, free to reproduce, and reproduced here word for word. It takes two minutes. It gives you a number between 0 and 21, tells you what that number does and doesn't mean, and offers one thing you can do tonight. It is a screen, not a diagnosis. Nothing you answer is stored.
GAD-7. Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams and Löwe, 2006. Free to use.
If you're in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, this isn't the page for tonight. Call Tele-MANAS on 14416, free and open all night, or talk to a human at TTC.
About this anxiety test
What is the GAD-7 anxiety test?
The GAD-7 is a seven question screening questionnaire for generalised anxiety, published by Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams and Löwe in 2006. It asks how often, over the last two weeks, you have been bothered by seven problems, from feeling nervous or on edge to feeling afraid that something awful might happen. It is free to use and is the screen most clinicians, including ours, use in a first session.
How is the GAD-7 scored?
Each of the seven items is scored 0 (not at all), 1 (several days), 2 (more than half the days) or 3 (nearly every day). The total runs from 0 to 21. Scores of 0 to 4 are read as minimal anxiety, 5 to 9 as mild, 10 to 14 as moderate and 15 to 21 as severe. A score of 10 or above is the standard point at which further assessment by a clinician is recommended.
| Score | Band | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 4 | Minimal | Not much anxiety on this list in the last two weeks |
| 5 to 9 | Mild | Anxiety on several days; worth a tool, not yet a diagnosis |
| 10 to 14 | Moderate | The point at which a clinician would want to talk to you |
| 15 to 21 | Severe | A clinician this week, and helplines if tonight is hard |
Is the GAD-7 accurate?
As a screen, yes. In the original 2006 study of 2,740 adults, a score of 10 or above identified generalised anxiety disorder with a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 82%. It also picks up panic, social anxiety and separation anxiety reasonably well, which is why a high score means worth looking at properly rather than one specific diagnosis.
Can this anxiety test diagnose me?
No. It is a screening tool. Only a clinician can diagnose, and a diagnosis needs a conversation, not a score. A high score does not mean you have a disorder. A low score does not mean you are fine.
Is my score stored?
No. The test is scored in your browser. Nothing you answer is sent to us, tagged, or used for marketing. If you choose to email the result to yourself, it goes from your own mail app.
What should I do if my score is 10 or more?
Ten is the score at which a clinician would want to talk to you. The Thought Co. offers a free 15 minute intro call with a psychologist, online across India or at the Lower Parel studio in Mumbai. If you are in crisis tonight, call Tele-MANAS on 14416, which is free and open 24 hours.
One thing before the first question.
Answer for the last two weeks.
Not today. Not the worst week this year. The last fourteen days as they actually were, including the ordinary ones. If a question doesn't fit, pick the option that's closest and keep going.
Before the number, one slow breath.
Four in. Hold for four. Out for six. The circle keeps time.
Your GAD-7 score, from the last two weeks
That's the minimal band.
If tonight is bad: Tele-MANAS 14416, free, all night. Or talk to a human at TTC.
What this means
What it doesn't mean
One thing for tonight
Where next
Numbers that pick up
- Tele-MANASGovernment line. Free. 24 hours, any language.14416
- Vandrevala FoundationFree. 24 hours.1860 266 2345
- iCALLMonday to Saturday, 10am to 8pm. Counsellors.9152987821
Email this result to yourself. It opens your own mail app with the score written in. Nothing here is stored. The score exists on your phone and nowhere else, and it is never used for marketing.
The small print, where you can see it.
- This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. Only a clinician can diagnose.
- A high score does not mean you have a disorder. A low score does not mean you are fine.
- Not a substitute for care. Not for use in crisis. Helplines are in the button at the top.
- Designed for adults.
- Scored on your device. Not stored unless you choose to email it to yourself. Never used for marketing.
- Instrument: GAD-7. Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JBW, Löwe B (2006). Free to use.
Written and reviewed by a psychologist at The Thought Co.
Anxiety therapy in Mumbai · online & in Lower Parel
Anxiety therapy in Mumbai, for a mind that will not switch off.
If your mind rarely switches off, if your heart races for no clear reason, or if you replay the same conversation long after it’s ended, this isn’t overreacting. It’s anxiety, and it’s treatable.
Anxiety therapy at The Thought Co. is CBT-based, one-to-one, in 60-minute sessions with a psychologist. We see people online across India or in person at Lower Parel, Mumbai. Sessions cost ₹1,500 to ₹8,000 depending on the therapist; the first 15-minute intro call is free. No diagnosis is needed to start.
A quiet check-in
Is this you?
Tap the ones you recognise. Nothing is scored, nothing is saved, and nothing here is a diagnosis — it’s a way to see it laid out.
Recognise a few? That’s reason enough to talk to someone.
Want a number instead? Take the GAD-7, the seven questions clinicians use. Free, nothing stored.
If you need support right now
If you’re having thoughts of harming yourself or feel unable to cope right now, please reach out immediately. You can call the KIRAN Mental Health Helpline at 1800-599-0019 (toll-free, 24/7) or the Vandrevala Foundation Helpline at 1860-2662-345. You deserve support, and you don’t have to go through this alone.
It’s anxiety, and it’s treatable.
↖ not a personality trait¹ NICE guideline CG113 lists cognitive behavioural therapy as the first-line psychological treatment for generalised anxiety disorder.
What we help with
Types of anxiety we help with
Recognising the pattern isn’t about labelling yourself. It’s about seeing your own shape in one of them.
swipe →
How anxiety therapy actually works
CBT first. Then whatever is underneath it.
Sessions usually start with cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety. Catching the thought as it’s happening instead of being carried by it, and working with the behaviours anxiety has quietly shrunk: calls avoided, plans skipped, situations dodged.
Where it’s needed, we go further, looking at older patterns, family context, or long-held beliefs about control and safety. Anxiety rarely has just one layer, so the work usually doesn’t either.
- 1
A conversation, not a test
Your therapist asks what’s been going on, how long it’s been building, and what it’s affecting.
- 2
Sleep, focus, work, people
We map where the anxiety is actually costing you something. No tidy explanation needed walking in.
- 3
60 minutes, weekly to start
In person in Lower Parel, or online. Both get you the same depth of care.
- 4
Tools that hold up
Ways to catch the loop outside the room, where the anxiety actually shows up.
Our therapists understand the specific weight anxiety carries. The work culture, the family expectations, the exhaustion of holding it together in front of people who assume you’re fine because you always are. Sessions are private and unhurried, built around your situation, not a script.
If anxiety is tangled up with a loss or a life transition, we also offer grief counselling and broader therapy in Mumbai, so you don’t have to work out the right starting point alone.
Anxiety doesn’t pause between sessions. Our journals and tools give you somewhere to put it down between the room — built to support sessions, never to replace them.
The aim isn’t a life with zero anxiety. It’s a nervous system that stops treating every ordinary day like a threat.
If you’d rather read first
More on anxiety
Is this Anxiety or a Heart Attack?Read →
Rumination vs Worry: Which Kind of Overthinking Are You Doing?Read →
Why Do I Overthink What My Parents Will Think? (The Half of Log Kya Kahenge Nobody Talks About)Read →
swipe →
More reading on anxiety (12 pieces)
- Does Overthinking Ruin Relationships? The Real Link Between Anxious Thoughts and Toxic Patterns
- Why Do I Overthink at Night? (What the Loop Is Doing When the House Goes Quiet)
- Is Overthinking Anxiety? How to Tell the Difference (And Why Indians Use the Safer Word)
- On the Four Words I Hear Most in the Therapy Room
- What Are the Signs of Anxious Attachment? (And Why You Keep Choosing Men Who Can't Choose Back)
- Stop Interrogating Your Relationship. Here's What's Actually Happening.
- Why Do I Overthink Everything? A Therapist Explains
- Why High Performers Burn Out First in Indian Tech?
- Why Do the Sunday Scaries Feel Worse in India?
- Imposter Syndrome at Work: Why Do I Feel Like a Fraud?
- Why Do I Feel Guilty For Still Having My Job?
- Why the News Doesn't Shock You Anymore (And Why That's Worth Paying Attention To)
- Browse the full anxiety archive →
Fees & booking
Session fees, and how booking works.
Anxiety therapy at The Thought Co. costs ₹1,500 to ₹8,000 for a 60-minute session, depending on the therapist you work with. The first 15-minute intro call is free.
- Start here: a free 15-minute intro call to find the right fit
- Format: online, or in person at Lower Parel
- Rhythm: 60 minutes, usually weekly to start
- No lock-in: no package to commit to upfront
Common questions
Questions people ask before they book
How long does anxiety therapy take?
It depends on how long the anxiety has been present and how deep the pattern runs. Some people notice relief within a few sessions. Lasting change — the kind that holds under pressure — usually takes a few months of consistent work.
Is online anxiety therapy as effective as in-person therapy?
For most people, yes. What matters more than the room is the fit with your therapist and how consistently you show up. Online therapy works well if commuting, privacy, or scheduling make in-person sessions difficult.
What’s the difference between anxiety and a panic attack?
Anxiety is usually the steadier, lower-grade state — the background hum. A panic attack is sudden and intense, a spike that can feel physically alarming even though it isn’t medically dangerous. You can experience one without the other, or both.
Do I need a diagnosis before booking a session?
No. “I think this might be anxiety and I don’t know what to do about it” is a complete enough reason to start. If you’re not sure you qualify, turn the thoughts over first.
Will I need medication as well as therapy?
Not necessarily. Many people manage anxiety through therapy alone. Some find medication alongside therapy helps them reach a place where the therapy can land better. That’s a conversation with a doctor, not something therapy requires upfront.
A small next step
You don’t need a clean explanation to start.
“Something’s off, and I think it might be anxiety” is enough to begin with. Start online from home, or come in to Lower Parel. Same care, either way.
one session. no commitment.