My GF socially drains me

My (22m) girlfriend (22f) have been seeing eachother for 10 months now. And when I spend time with her I never feel fully relaxed, and seem to constantly crave time alone.

Now, she is a spectacular human being, one of the nicest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with, super understanding and patient when I feel down, which is quite often.

I do have some habits she’s not fond of which tends to keep me on edge around her, a mild nicotine dependency, which I never partake in when I spend time with her, nor do I feel the need to, yet she is still irritated by the fact I haven’t quit. This might play into my nerves around her.

My work schedule leaves me with one day off a week, and the rest of the week I’m either starting at 4am, 5am or 9am, so my afternoon time feels tiring even when it’s spent at home by myself. Most weeks I see her after work on Wednesday, after school on Friday, all day Saturday, and after work on Sunday, on these days and all others bar Saturday I will be in school or work.

I am someone who craves independence, so when the bulk of my free time is spent with her it feels quite claustrophobic, although she views it as me not spending enough time with her, to the point she gets upset if I see my friends after school, even just for an hour.

It gets to the point where I’m absolutely on edge with her, every question asked and every word said makes me twitch and flinch and I’m holding back from shutting down or snapping.

I do love her, but I’m finding this quite difficult, and I don’t think I want to end things.

Any one else had/having a similar experience?