My (18M) Girlfriend (18F) asked for a “Break” in our relationship to better herself. How should I deal with the heartbreak of being on break, and if its even a good reason to be on a break, or if I should just consider it a breakup and move on.

Im (18) male and this has been my first real relationship I’ve been in, and the first time I’ve let myself fall in love with a girl. My girlfriend (18) has a lot of family problems and often fights with her parents (father is toxic and an alcoholic) so she doesn’t have the best view on relationships. She also suffers from mental illness, and has had trust issues from her past relationship (over a year ago). I knew all this going into the relationship, but what can I say I’m dumb and in love. She was the first one in the relationship to say I love you, and at first I didn’t quite think I loved her; although, as time went on I found myself deeply in love with her. Our relationship was going great (In my opinion) and she had not given me any signs to show me otherwise. I was the first guy to buy her flowers, I met her parents, became friends with her friends etc. As of a few days ago she started becoming distant, and today she asked to talk. She calls me crying in a panic, saying her divorced parents are fighting again and involving her, she says she is spiralling right now and doesn’t know what to do. She said she feels overwhelmed with school and dealing with her parents and she feels she is becoming depressed. I try to calm her down and tell her I am there for her and want to help her in any way I can. She adds saying she is overwhelmed with managing a relationship, school, her friendships, and family. I tell her I understand and I deal with the same thing (maybe not on her level). She then says she knows I want to help her but this is something she must do alone. So she says we should take a break so she can improve her grades in school, and spend more time with her friends because her friends are becoming more distant because she spends a lot of time with me. She says she needs to manage her relationships better and better herself so she can give me 100% of her. Even though it breaks my heart and is currently ruining me, I know I cant do anything about it since she’s made up her mind. She says she still loves me, and that ive done nothing wrong and that she just needs some time to think and better herself. She says that if she stays together in this state she is going to push me away and hurt me, but a break is doing just that. She also doesn’t want my help in any of this. I tried telling her that ive seen so many relationships not workout because of a break and that we should just talk through it and find a solution, but she responded with “Thank you but im not able to handle it at all at the moment, forcing something when im not in a good place will only ruin our relationship and I odnt want that, im just really lost rn and I need time to think about everything and where im at and if your not able to give me that then idk. I get you want to be together, but I need to better myself rn and I do that unless im on my own, im sorry.” I know im a bitch and should just move on and take the hint but I really cant, ive never felt the love I have for this girl with anything else. I need advice is this a valid reason to accept a break, or do I take it as a hint that she wants it to be over and deal with the heartbreak and move on with my life and not consider returning to the relationship no matter how bad I want to. I know in most cases a break is just a excuse to go and sleep around with other guys, but I know she is not in the state to do so. It just kills me to imagine her with anyone else atm. I know im young and this wont be my only relationship and only breakup, but my heart is just aching right now and its killing me. Any advice is helpful, please be as brutally honest as you can be.