Gut-wrenching (adjective)

1. Extremely distressing or emotionally painful.
2. Devastating or causing intense emotional pain.

Origin:

From the phrase gut-wrenching which is a figurative use of the verb wrench which means to twist and pull something with great force and the word gut which is a figurative term for one's innermost feelings and emotions.

Examples:

1. The news of her death was gut-wrenching.
2. It was a gut-wrenching decision to leave him.
3. The performance was gut-wrenching and left the audience in tears.
4. The gut-wrenching story left the readers in shock.
5. The gut-wrenching pain was unbearable.