The aim of this study was to gain in-depth knowledge of how persons with long-term mental illness experience their everyday situation, in order to identify potential psychosocial obstacles to a meaningful existence. The focus was on psychosocial aspects, such as contact with others and the quality of these contacts. An ethnographic design was used, in order to provide an inside perspective. Four persons with long-term mental illness participated in the study. Three open-ended interviews, at 1-week intervals, were conducted with each informant. Analysis of transcribed material consisted of naive reading and content analysis guided by the investigators’ understanding of the psychiatric context. Three themes were generated: feeling lonely but being unable to establish friendships; knowledge of what to do but lacking initiative; and awareness of the need for support but not wanting to be subject to control. These themes reflect contradictions between thoughts, feelings and actions, which seem to contribute to a psychosocial disadvantage in the life of persons with long-term mental illness.