Distressed? In pieces presumably! (3,2)
I believe the answer is:
cut up
'distressed?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cut up that I've seen before include "affected by separation" , "Happy? No" , "Miserable" , "Destroy with scissors" , "Dice, chop" .)