A simple 0 to 6 scale gives people a quick way to name how worried they feel without needing to explain everything at once. It works well as a printable anxiety scale, worry thermometer, feelings rating chart or emotional check-in tool for adults, young people and older children who can reflect on their mood and body signals.
The main page sets out seven levels: 0 calm, 1 slight worry, 2 mild worry, 3 moderate worry, 4 strong worry, 5 intense worry and 6 extreme worry. Each level includes a short first-person description, such as feeling safe and able to cope, noticing a small worry, finding it harder to concentrate, feeling emotionally drained, or feeling panicked, stuck or out of control.
The wording is particularly suited to counselling sessions, social work visits, pastoral support, wellbeing check-ins, family support work and home conversations where someone may struggle to describe anxiety. Practitioners, parents, carers, teachers and support workers could ask the person to point to a number, compare how the worry changes during a conversation, or use it before and after a calming strategy.
The scale can also support safety planning and self-regulation work because it separates mild, moderate and more overwhelming worry in a clear stepped format. It may be useful for teenagers, anxious adults, care-experienced young people, neurodivergent learners who benefit from visual prompts, and anyone who finds numbered emotional rating scales easier than open-ended questions. Created by Edita Stiborova.
