Very good Echoes! I think of panic like that as real. When you were with your mom and she was unpredictable you were scared and when it is triggered up, wow, those stashed away, unresolved feelings come right back. Our bodies must use preservatives or something........

I had many triggers like this and what I did is exactly what you are doing right now. The first step is awareness and you did this. The next step is when you are triggered like this again, sit with it, just like you suggested and the next step is to remember where it is coming from. "Oh yeah, this is how I felt when my mom would do......." After this you need to remind yourself that it is today, no mom, you are not a child, this is a memory and a trigger. Tell yourself that you are okay today. Finally, you need to talk with your T about these past feelings and incidents so that you can disarm them. If they are disarmed and the feelings are released they can't be triggered so easily.

This whole process takes time. You might just be aware for a few times before you can sit with it. And then you might not be able to get past the sitting with it for a few times. Each step is important and valuable and eventually you will get through the whole process. Once I got through the whole process, every time that I did it my trigger got weaker and weaker until it disappeared.