I did my IMC 6 months after my PPL, with an instructor who taught to IR standards. I can honestly say I'd never worked so hard in an aircraft up until then, and probably haven't since. (The twin rating was easy by comparison). There were times after an hour and a half under the hood that I was drenched in sweat and couldn't tell you what day it was.
but
Fear not
You're not the first, you won't be the last. What you're going through is normal and one day it'll just drop straight into place and will make perfect sense (roundabout hour 9 I reckon
)