The phrase "private hell" refers to someone's personal and unseen struggles or emotional turmoil. It represents the internal pain and difficulty a person may be experiencing privately, which is often hidden from others. Full definition
In the meantime the film has bogged down into a series of screaming matches and near fist - fights between the pals, all suffering through their own private hells of guilt and fear. (nitrateonline.com)
For in the midst of Barry's private hell of unhappiness arrives Lena Leonard (Watson), a beautiful young Englishwoman, driving an Infiniti G20 with, weirdly, no registration plates. (theguardian.com)
Jenkins, who last year mastered the «living out my own private hell with dignity» niche in The Visitor and Step Brothers, will play Lotterman, the supervisor of the shoddy and troubled newspaper that employs Depp. (slashfilm.com)