Last night my wife spilled her dinner (hot soup) on herself and started crying. I found myself in a freeze then fawn reaction- a 53-year old man now the seven year old watching his mom sob as she told numerous horror stories of her own childhood. I felt so helpless then that I could not "fix" my mom no matter how much I tried to comfort her. My reaction to the present situation was excessive, even though it was natural to want my wife to feel better. It wasn't natural (I believe) to feel guilty that she was suffering and to fawn over her as a result of that feeling.
Am I correctly identifying an emotional flashback?
In my opinion, yes, although you are the best judge of what to call it. ;)
Thanks, Three Roses! It does seem to match what has been described as emotional flashback. Pete Walker's book states being able to identify when we are in an emotional flashback is an important first step- so I guess I'm on the right path. It didn't stop me from freezing and then fawning, but I guess that comes later.