distressful vs disturbing

distressful and disturbing both are adjectives.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
distressful	No	Yes	No	No
disturbing	No	Yes	No	No

As adjectives, distressful and disturbing are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of distressful include distressing, perturbing, troubling, worrisome, worrying.

distressful (adjective)	disturbing (adjective)
causing distress or worry or anxiety	causing distress or worry or anxiety