Hi nurseboy...I often have the same feelings. It's always nice to say "I'm anxious because of this"...but for me, it doesn't always work that way. Sometimes, I'm anxious for no reason. From previous experiences, as my stress level and anxiety starts to drop overall, the feelings are less common. When I do get them, however, they feel like a sense of impending doom (almost like an intense form of anxiety that is very difficult to reason with..when I'm in the middle of it, positive self-talk and relaxation just don't seem to work).
When I'm in "one of those stages" everything I look at and see is anxiety producing. The state of the world, the health of my children, my own ability to cope, the severity of my anxiety problem, my self confidence, etc. - everything seems to be far worse than it really is (from reading the Panic Program, I can label some of the thoughts - the most common being all or nothing thinking and generalization).