I' ve seen folks flinch on a .17 Remington.....I first discovered the problem when I flinched using a .22 rimfire on a dud.

You must do two things: 1 Recognise the problem...as you already have...

and 2. have someone else load the gun for you to fire. That someone else may or may not actually load the gun and you won' t know. Shooting a gun not knowing if it' s actually loaded is very difficult (at least for me) but it' s an exercise that gets you back on track. You must overcome this reaction or you' ll never shoot as well as you' re capable.