hold inside

hold (something) inside (of oneself)

To not share or release something related to one's emotions. I wanted to hold my tears inside of myself at the funeral, but I was blubbering in no time. I knew Angela was going through a tough time, so I really tried to hold my happiness inside while I was with her.
See also: hold, inside
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

hold something inside

((of) one(self)) Go to hold something in.
See also: hold, inside
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • hold (something) inside (of oneself)
  • collect (oneself)
  • be written all over (one's) face
  • be written all over somebody's face
  • be written all over your face
  • shut down emotionally
  • boiling point
  • search (one's) heart
  • search your heart/soul/conscience
  • get past
References in periodicals archive
the no place of taking hold inside the inside call heard in the reeds.
The Reeds Shook. Luckless in Love
Officials reported 1,328 arrivals on Tuesday as rebels tried to expand their hold inside Aleppo, Syria's largest city, close to the border.
2400 Syrians Cross into Turkey Overnight
The blaze had taken hold inside a teenage girl's bedroom and destroyed it, sending smoke through the rest of the upstairs.
Drama as blaze hits bedroom
he is their enemy and demands the very poisonous essence they hold inside. It is a sleek ride into the underworld and what happens when it collides with our world.
Slayer
A North Wales Fire Service spokeswoman said crews were confronted with a severe fire, which had already taken hold inside a bedroom after the candle had fallen on to bedclothes.
Candle starts house inferno
The essential point was that the laws that governed combustion outside the body seemed to hold inside the body as well.
Respiration and combustion