伤脑筋 (shāng nǎo jīn): to be a real headache; to find sth a real headache; to beat one's brains

The boss suddenly informed us that we need to finish the entire project next week; everyone finds this very troublesome.

My son plays on his phone until midnight every day; how to break him of this habit is a real headache for his mother.

Whether to work in Beijing or stay in Shanghai, this choice has been bothering him for weeks.

When it rains, the roof at home always leaks, and repairing it several times hasn't helped; it's really a headache.

How to finish his thesis before the weekend without delaying exam preparation is a real headache for him.