It’s tough to make changes when you don’t know exactly what needs to change, but exploring contributing factors or sources of stress in your life can help.

Burnout often relates to job and professional triggers, like the stress of an increasingly demanding job. But you could also experience burnout when:

•having a rigorous academic schedule

•dealing with relationship problems, especially ones that seem to circle with no resolution

•caring for a loved one with a serious or chronic health condition

Trying to do too much on your own also creates an ideal environment for burnout to fester.

“Eventually you bend so much you break, and that’s when burnout happens,” explains Barrie Sueskind, LMFT, a therapist in Los Angeles.

Say you’re a single parent with a full-time job, trying to take online classes, an…

You might recognize a few ways to lighten your load right away.

Three different time-consuming projects keeping you working long hours, week after week?

“Those with a lot of ambition to succeed in their careers are tempted to do it all,” Sueskind says. But this can backfire when you end up with no energy for anything.

Instead, try accepting that doing it all isn’t realistic, and ask your supervisor to reassign one project or add someone else to your team.

Overwhelmed with work and personal commitments but still can’t bring yourself to turn down requests from loved ones?

“Those with people-pleasing tendencies often take on too much to avoid letting anyone down,” Sueskind says.

If you’re already running out of hours in the day for the things you absolutely need to do, adding more tasks will only add more frustration and stress.

If you feel unsure of how to begin sorting through the causes of burnout and looking for ways to ease your stress, that’s normal.

Burnout can become so overwhelming that determining how to address it still seems exhausting. It’s also hard to identify potential solutions when you feel completely spent.

Involving a trusted loved one can help you feel supported and less alone. Friends, family members, and partners can help you brainstorm possible solutions.

They’re close enough to your life to have some understanding of what works for you but still have enough distance to consider the situation with some clarity.

Opening up to people about the distress you’re experiencing can take some courage, especially when you worry they’ll see you as incapable or lazy.

But struggling through burnout alone can make overcoming it more difficult.