Now I've Gone and Made my Characters Cry

I have such a love/hate relationship with emotionally powerful scenes in stories. I adore to pieces coming up with those kick-in-the-gut moments full of exploding anger or sadness or joy or whatever, but when it comes to actually writing them I suddenly find myself seeking every possible excuse not to write today. It's just so utterly draining trying to feel what the characters' feel and understand why they feel that way in order to get those emotions and reactions across. It's something I like to get as right as possible in the very first draft, mostly to get it over with since it is so draining, but also to make sure those emotions are still there and as powerful as they can be when I edit, because I often find myself prematurely disappointed in the story if they're not.

Does anyone else find emotionally powerful scenes a cringe-worthy prospect? Or is it something you can't wait to get to?

Also, do you find that writing makes you hungry? I know it does me :P *Iz hungry and laments our lack of cereal and milk*