adjective:

• painful; difficult; tough; hard
• distressing; (psychologically) difficult; stressful; awkward (e.g. position)
• straitened (circumstances); tight (financial situation); needy; struggling
• strained (interpretation, explanation, etc.); lame (e.g. excuse); forced (e.g. smile); far-fetched

auxiliary adjective / adjective:

• hard to do; unpleasant - after -masu stem of verb; often ぐるしい ➜ 寝苦しい【ねぐるしい】・見苦しい【みぐるしい】