This is the 17725th most frequent Russian word.
удручающим
Depressing; discouraging.
Here, "удручающим" describes the appearance of a person as something that induces a feeling of discouragement or sorrow, used as an adjective in the instrumental case.
Его вид был удручающим.
His appearance was discouraging.
In this sentence, "удручающим" characterizes the text and its impact on the speaker's emotions, using the adjective again in the instrumental case after "показаться".
Этот текст показался мне удручающим.
This text seemed depressing to me.
Here, "удручающих" modifies "последствиях," explaining the nature of the consequences as demoralizing or saddening, functioning as an adjective.