If you identify yourself as a student pilot, ATC will generally bend over backwards to communicate clearly and slowly with you if the situation is becoming even remotely complicated.
Otherwise, for a private pilot, an urge to flee the scene is really more indicative that you might be confused or disoriented. I'd argue that fleeing the scene isn't necessarily the best way to solve the problem. If you REALLY think that a few minutes hovering just above our outside the airspace is truly going to give you a moment of clarity, then by all means, do just that. My guess, though, is you'd be better off simply telling the ATC that you could use some assistance or clarification, a longer final, more space, slower transmissions, or otherwise rectifying whatever it is that is actually CAUSING the problem. Two heads are normally better than one, so if you confess ATC that you have an issue, and tell them exactly what's bothering you, then they have a fighting chance to help you.
Simply asking to leave the airspace may not be the silver bullet. Keep in mind, being just outside the airspace still makes you a potential hood ornament for the departing/arriving traffic. Relocating to nearby Class E won't change that. Also, you're already in the pattern, you're about 60-90 secs from being on the ground. It's a shame to undo the work collectively done by yourself and the controller by starting over with a position reset.
There might be some cases where having a few quiet moments to yourself might allow you to dig yourself out of the hole, but I'm sure there are circumstances where a truly flustered pilot would benefit tremendously from a quick situational-awareness boost from the controller, time permitting.