I was once told that a pilot with no IMC experience would loose control in about 40 seconds if s/he entered cloud.
I have done the 180 on instruments, under the hood, during PPL training, and quite a lot more, but I do not have an IMC or IR rating. I also have a lot of experience flying MSFS on instruments, so I thought that I would be able to keep the plane sunny side up for a minute or so at least if I inadvertently would enter IMC.
With an (IR rated) instructor on board, I recently entered cloud while climbing. It took all of my brain capacity and mental will to trust the instruments, to keep the plane more or less level and in the minute that this lasted we still went off-course about 30 degrees, because I had enough trouble believing the AH to check the DI. And looking back I think I'm glad I got the plane properly trimmed 'cause I don't remember checking the ASI or Alt either. It scared the willies out of me.
Practice under the hood or MSFS is NOT the same as actual IMC. Vertigo and spatial disorientation is real but can't be simulated other than by flying in actual clouds.
So I doubt whether the advice
I got a bit more than this and the advice that if I ever did get lost in cloud to ascend to my safe altitude on instruments, trust the instruments and talk to someone who could get me back on the ground in one piece using radar vectors.
will actually work for a PPL with just the minimum simulated instrument time and no actual IMC experience.