Your score doesn’t define you.
It directs your healing.
— Kenya Michelle Young
The HAS-10 is a 10-item self-reflection tool designed to assess how often anxiety is activated in response to hope or positive anticipation.
It does not assume that everyone experiences Hope Anxiety. It helps identify whether hope feels accessible, cautiously held or consistently unsafe within your nervous system. Some people move toward hope with ease. Others experience subtle bracing, hesitation or avoidance when good things begin to unfold.
How to take the HAS-10
- Find a quiet place.
- Answer honestly.
- Don’t overthink.
- There are no wrong answers.
- Base your responses on the last two weeks.
- This is a snapshot — not a sentence.
There are no right or wrong scores. A lower score does not indicate denial. A higher score does not indicate failure. This scale is intended as a reflective framework to support understanding and healing, not as a diagnostic label.
One quiet moment
What this is
- Ten statements about how you experience hope. It takes about three minutes.
- You will see your score and your range as soon as you finish.
- The HAS-10 is a reflective tool, not a diagnosis.
About the research
- The HAS-10 is being studied, and your responses contribute to that work.
- After your score you will be asked a few questions about yourself. Answering them unlocks your full interpretation.
- Your responses are recorded without your name or email attached.
- You must be 18 or older to take part.
Optional. It personalizes your result on screen and names your download. It is not recorded with your responses.
Optional. If you’d like a copy, this fills in the address at the end. The email is written in your own mail app and you press send. It is not recorded with your responses.
How would you like your results interpreted?
Both readings describe the same score and the same patterns. Choose the one you would rather read first. You will be able to read the other afterward.
Your score doesn’t define you. It directs your healing.
Each range reflects a different level of Hope Anxiety activation.
A few questions before you read on
The HAS-10 is being studied, and these answers are what make that study possible. They are recorded without your name or email. Completing them opens your full interpretation, your stage and your download.
Understanding your score
There are two ways to read this result. Both apply to the same score and reflect the same underlying emotional and nervous system patterns.
Standard Interpretation
Where this sits in the stages
Hope Anxiety moves through three stages. The lower your score, the more freely hope flows — but hope never completely disappears. Even at the highest stages it is still there, just protected.
What to do with your results
- Don’t panic if you scored high.
- Don’t dismiss it if you scored low.
- Your score is information.
- Retake it monthly.
- Use your score to choose chapters and tools.
- Share it with your therapist if you have one.
- Celebrate having language for your lived experience.
Your responses
A record of what you answered, so you can compare when you retake it.
| Statement | Response |
|---|
Now you know where you stand. You have a number that validates your fear. You have language for the bracing in your body and the tension in your chest.
Where to go next
Download your result
Save a copy of your score, your interpretation and your responses.
Email your result
Opens your own mail app with your result already written in, so you can send it wherever you like.
Retake the HAS-10
Retake it monthly to track how your relationship with hope is changing.