Can you hold in/prevent a meltdown?

I rarely meltdown in public. It probably hasn't happened since I was a child. It is rare for me to meltdown in the first place. But when it happens, I always run and hide somewhere where I don't have to be around people and can have some privacy.

My meltdowns, or what I assume to be meltdowns, are mostly crying and being consumed by feelings. They are disabling as I have to take time to process things and really just put myself in a private place and let the emotions run through me and pass. I don't like being overly emotional because that is usually what leads to a meltdown. Rumination, feelings of not being good enough, feelings of being rejected or causing an inconvenience to someone—those things make me have a meltdown.

I don't leave the house much, honestly. I have no reason to, for the most part. But I was talking with my mom, and she said that when I was younger and we would be out in public, I would get overstimulated sometimes. She could see it in me and usually got me to a safe space before I went over the edge. But once I got older, I could tell her that it was time to go. And she knew that I was done for the day and I couldn't do any more.

To me, I think that was meltdown prevention. We didn't know it at the time, though. I got out of the situation and was able to release the built up energy. At the same time, I do wonder if my being able to put off a meltdown until I can get somewhere safe is a point of trauma left over from childhood, when I was expected to be this little trophy daughter. Any outburst was met with physical punishment. And fear of punishment now shapes my worldview.

Is anyone else able to hold in a meltdown or prevent it entirely? I don't even know if what I am having is a true meltdown. I'm not violent, and I am still mostly in control. Probably again from the childhood trauma where being out of control meant punishment. Like, the last time I had a meltdown, I knew I had to do something destructive. I just felt it. I chose to do things that wouldn't harm anything. I threw a big stuffed animal and kicked a cardboard cat scratcher. I knew that I didn't want to mess anything up, but I had to get the energy out.

Is anyone else like this, where you can escape it or put it off until you are in a safer position?