What does 'need space' actually mean?

Yeah mate I been there. My ex dropped the space line too right after we booked a trip together. Felt like a gut punch especially from up north where you’re already stuck in your head all shift. Here’s the thing I learned—when someone says they need space it usually means they’re already gone. Not always but most of the time. They’ve checked out quietly and don’t know how to say it clean. That silence? It’s the answer even if it doesn’t feel like one. I wasted weeks waiting for my girl to come back around texting her then deleting the messages. Don’t do that. You’re out there on rotation with no real way to talk it through anyway. Use the time instead. Call your brother have a beer actually sleep through the night without checking your phone. When you get back if she wants to talk let her. But don’t chase it through text. You deserve a proper conversation not a one-liner breakup. And yeah it sucks but sometimes space is just breakup with training wheels