sad vs distressing

sad and distressing both are adjectives.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
sad	No	Yes	No	No
distressing	No	Yes	No	No

As adjectives, sad and distressing are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of sad include deplorable, lamentable, pitiful, sorry.

sad (adjective)	distressing (adjective)
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness	bad; unfortunate
bad; unfortunate	causing distress or worry or anxiety
of things that make you feel sad