Free Anxiety Test (GAD-7): Is Worry Taking Up More Than Its Share?
Occasional worry is normal. Constant, hard-to-control worry that affects your sleep, focus or body is worth paying attention to. This free, confidential anxiety test uses the GAD-7, the questionnaire clinicians use worldwide, and takes about 2 minutes.
You will see 7 short statements. For each one, think about the last 2 weeks and choose how often it has bothered you. Answer honestly: nobody else will see your answers unless you choose to share them.
This is a screening aid, not a diagnosis. The GAD-7 estimates how severe anxiety symptoms are. Only a qualified clinician can diagnose an anxiety disorder. If you have chest pain or feel unsafe, call 112 now.
Question 1 of 813%
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by:
Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge
Think about the last 2 weeks, not just today. There are no right or wrong answers.
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by:
Not being able to stop or control worrying
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by:
Worrying too much about different things
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by:
Trouble relaxing
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by:
Being so restless that it's hard to sit still
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by:
Becoming easily annoyed or irritable
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by:
Feeling afraid, as if something awful might happen
One last question
How difficult have these problems made it for you to do your work, take care of things at home, or get along with other people?
This does not change your score, but it shows how much worry affects daily life. If none of the problems applied, choose "Not difficult at all".
🔒 Your answers are not stored by HubPharm. "Share the test" and "More options" send only the link to this free test, never your result.
About this score. The GAD-7 (Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JBW, Lowe B. Arch Intern Med 2006;166:1092-1097) is a validated anxiety screening tool. It was designed for generalised anxiety and also picks up panic disorder, social anxiety and PTSD reasonably well, but it is not a diagnosis. Thyroid problems, caffeine and some medicines can cause similar symptoms.
Why This Screening Matters
Anxiety Is Manageable, Once You Can Name It
"Chronic worry often shows up in the body first: a tight chest, restlessness, trouble sleeping. It can be a long time before someone thinks to call it anxiety."
What this screens for
How severe anxiety symptoms have been over the last 2 weeks: nervousness, uncontrollable worry, trouble relaxing, restlessness, irritability and a sense of dread.
Who it is for
Adults who have felt on edge, unable to stop worrying or physically tense for more than a couple of weeks, including people with palpitations, poor sleep or a chronic illness.
What happens next
Save your report privately, then talk to a HubPharm clinician. We can arrange a confidential consultation, therapy referral, medicine review and follow-up.
Mental Health Education Hub
Understanding Anxiety
Clear, evidence-based information on anxiety: how to recognise it, how it affects the body, how it is treated and what you can do today.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is the body's natural alarm system: it helps you react to danger. It becomes a problem when the alarm keeps going off without a real threat, when worry is hard to control, lasts for weeks and starts to affect sleep, work, relationships or health.
4.4%of people worldwide live with an anxiety disorder, the most common mental disorders
359Mpeople were living with anxiety disorders in 2021
4.9MNigerians estimated to live with an anxiety disorder
Sources: World Health Organization, Anxiety disorders fact sheet, 2025; WHO, Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders: Global Health Estimates, 2017 (Nigeria, 2.7% of the population).
Anxiety symptoms in the mind and body
Constant worry that is hard to switch off
Feeling on edge, restless or irritable
Racing or pounding heart
Chest tightness or shortness of breath
Sweating, trembling or dizziness
Stomach upset, nausea or loose stools
Headaches and muscle tension
Trouble falling or staying asleep
Because anxiety is so physical, many people visit a hospital for palpitations, headaches or stomach problems before anyone mentions anxiety. Our free anxiety test helps you put a name to what you are feeling.
Is it normal worry or an anxiety disorder?
Normal worry
Anxiety disorder
Trigger
A real, specific problem
Many things, or no clear reason
Control
You can set it aside
Hard or impossible to stop
How long
Passes when the problem passes
Most days for weeks or months
Body
Brief tension
Ongoing physical symptoms
Daily life
Little effect
Affects sleep, work or relationships
Types of anxiety
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD): persistent, excessive worry about many everyday things.
Panic disorder: sudden, repeated panic attacks with intense fear and physical symptoms.
Social anxiety: intense fear of being judged or embarrassed in social situations.
Phobias: strong fear of a specific thing, such as heights, needles or enclosed spaces.
Related conditions: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Common triggers include long-term stress, financial pressure, trauma, family history, chronic illness, heavy caffeine or alcohol use and some medicines.
Panic attack or heart attack?
A panic attack can cause a racing heart, chest tightness, breathlessness, sweating and a fear of dying. Symptoms usually peak within about 10 minutes and then ease.
Never ignore chest pain. If you have chest pain or pressure, especially if it spreads to the arm, jaw or back, comes with sweating or breathlessness, or you have heart risk factors, treat it as an emergency: call 112 or go to the nearest hospital. Doctors would much rather check and find it was anxiety.
Anxiety and chronic illness
Living with diabetes, hypertension, HIV, cancer, sickle cell disease or another long-term condition can bring constant worry about health, costs and the future. Anxiety in turn can raise blood pressure, disturb sleep and make it harder to take medicines on time.
Caring for mind and body together gives better results. HubPharm's multidisciplinary team of pharmacists, doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals coordinates care for more than 10,200 chronic patients, and our medication management support has improved adherence by 42%.
Anxiety treatment that works
Talking therapies: cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective treatments. It teaches you to spot anxious thought patterns and respond to them differently.
Medicines: some antidepressants (SSRIs and SNRIs) are first-line medicines for anxiety. They usually take a few weeks to work. Sedatives such as benzodiazepines are for short-term use only because of the risk of dependence. Never stop any of these suddenly; your pharmacist can explain how to take them safely.
Lifestyle: regular exercise, steady sleep, and cutting down on caffeine, energy drinks, alcohol and nicotine all reduce anxiety.
Connection and self-help: talking to people you trust, structured worry time and relaxation practice.
Calm your body in 2 minutes
Slow box breathing tells your nervous system it is safe. Press start and follow the circle: breathe in as it grows, hold, breathe out as it shrinks, hold.
Ready when you are
4 rounds · about 1 minute
Grounding (5-4-3-2-1): name 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell and 1 you can taste. It pulls your attention back to the present.
Yes. The HubPharm anxiety test is free, takes about 2 minutes and needs no sign-up. Your answers are scored in your browser and are not stored or sent to anyone unless you choose to save or share your report.
The GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale) is a validated anxiety screening tool developed by Drs Robert Spitzer, Kurt Kroenke, Janet Williams and Bernd Lowe. Clinicians worldwide use it to screen for anxiety and measure how severe symptoms are over the last 2 weeks.
Each answer scores 0 to 3, giving a total of 0 to 21. A score of 0 to 4 suggests minimal anxiety, 5 to 9 mild, 10 to 14 moderate and 15 to 21 severe anxiety symptoms. A score of 10 or more is the usual point at which a fuller assessment by a clinician is recommended.
No. The GAD-7 is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. Only a qualified clinician can diagnose an anxiety disorder after talking with you and ruling out other causes, such as an overactive thyroid, too much caffeine, anaemia or side effects of medicines.
Anxiety often shows up in the body: a racing or pounding heart, chest tightness, shortness of breath, sweating, trembling, stomach upset, headaches, muscle tension, dizziness and trouble sleeping. Many people see a doctor for these symptoms before anxiety is recognised.
They can feel similar. Panic attacks usually peak within about 10 minutes and then ease. Never ignore chest pain: if you have chest pain or pressure, especially spreading to the arm, jaw or back, with sweating or breathlessness, treat it as an emergency and call 112 or go to the nearest hospital.
Anxiety is very treatable. Talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) are highly effective. Some people also benefit from medicines prescribed by a doctor, such as SSRIs. Sedatives like benzodiazepines are only for short-term use because of the risk of dependence. Regular exercise, good sleep and less caffeine and alcohol also help.
Try slow breathing: breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4, breathe out for 4 and hold for 4, and repeat for a few minutes. You can use the guided breathing exercise on this page. Grounding also helps: name 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell and 1 you can taste.
Yes, and it is a good idea. Anxiety and depression often occur together. HubPharm also offers a free, confidential PHQ-9 depression test at hubpharmafrica.com/depression-screener/.
On your results screen choose Download PDF for a full report you can show a doctor, Email to myself, or Copy summary to paste it somewhere private. To protect your privacy, the WhatsApp and More options share only the link to this free test, never your answers or score.