Might sound stupid but make sure you aren't tuning your strings an octave up. In band class one of the kids was doing it. He constantly broke strings and it was hard to play.

Also what is the measured action at the 12th fret?

If you fret the low E at the 12th fret is there a lot of space between the neck and the string between the 1st and 12th fret? Is it hard to just fret the strings without bends? Or is it just bends are hard?

Also where on the neck are you trying to bend? If you're trying to bend the first fret yeah its tough. Move down the neck, the closer you are to the middle of the scale length the easier it gets.

If you're playing with 9's (I do too) bends should be relatively easy.

Its definitely not the string tree.

Also how long have you owned this guitar? Has it ever been set up before? If the frets are starting to flatten you might need to have them re crowned. Frets have a small radius to them they shouldn't be completely flat. If you need a ton of pressure to hold a note I'm willing to bet the action is set too high.

How do the sadles on the bridge look?