Yes, of course. I have experienced something similar! I used to hate small talk when I was a kid because small talk meant taking in front of many people with all of their attention on you. Terrifying. I used to be a very quiet kid. But I got a lot better! I do small talk much more confidently now but the occasional "starting problem" like the feeling of exploding that you mention. What helps me is to force myself to relax physically. I've seen that forcing myself to physically calm down works much better than just telling myself not to get nervous. This may involve me breathing deeply, "chilling out", as ridiculous as it may sound.