distress
The silence was broken by a distressful wail from the back of the room.
It’s distressful to think that your doctor could recommend an unnecessary surgical procedure.
Any big changes can be distressful and unsettling for your pet.
They felt that there was no one to help them through that distressful time.
The experience was emotionally distressful and left him with psychological problems.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Saddening, shocking and upsetting
affecting
agonizingly
arrogance
baleful
be cold comfortidiom
disrespect
distressfully
distressing
distressingly
dolorous
hurtful
hurtfully
impiously
impiousness
lacerating
teary
touching
touchingly
tragically
traumatic