That is hell. Hell is not so much a place God sends us as it is a place we send ourselves. If we find ourselves in hell as the prodigal did and we re fortunate enough to come to ourselves, then we are fortunate indeed if we realize we have we have sinned. The lad realizes what has happened when he comes to himself. This doesn't mean he has realized that he has sinned by simply squandering his money in loose living.
Sin goes much deeper than that.
If we think of sin only in terms of the petty cruelties we inflict on other people and the bad habits we develop selfishly to please ourselves, I suspect we won't do much about it. We can be so angry and so hateful to others, we can become so comfortable with our bad habits and inappropriate appetites, we can perpetuate the sin. We deepen it as we perpetuate the hate, the anger, the bad habit. Think of yourself not only hating and hurting others, but include God in that formula. That is what makes it truly sinful.