Feeling lost, frustrated, and emotionally exhausted after a woman I was seeing suddenly pulled away. What can I do?

Sup everyone, I 25M and I'm just feeling incredibly overwhelmed, frustrated, and emotionally drained right now, and I really need some advice on how to move forward.

For context, I’ve been feeling a lot of pressure lately anyway, as I’ve been trying to find my footing in my career two years after graduating with my MSc. But recently, a situation with a woman (29F) has completely knocked me sideways.

We started hanging out a lot back in February. We were seeing each other almost every other week, things felt incredibly natural, and we were flirting constantly. By the end of March, I expressed genuine romantic interest in her. I took her out on dates, and she actively participated in the dynamic, so I naturally started investing my feelings and started seeing that we could lead to a relationship.

She never once set a boundary, told me she just wanted to be friends, or said she couldn't do this. She just kept hanging out with me and letting things progress. Finally, a few days ago, because I could feel a shift, I asked her what was going on in her head via voice notes...She told me she isn't in the right headspace for a relationship because of personal things happening in her life even though she likes me and is attracted to me. Now, the entire dynamic has completely flipped. The way she communicate is totally different, cold, and distant.

I feel so frustrated and stupid for having false hope. I feel like I've wasted the last few months emotionally bonding with someone who just let the clock run without being upfront with me. I don’t know if the headspace thing is real or just an excuse to avoid hurting me, but the sudden emotional whiplash is making me feel like an emotional wreck.

How do I accept this and protect myself? Should I cut off contact completely, or try to understand her side? I just want to stop feeling like this.

Any advice would be appreciated, thnx ✌️