<p>While physical violence is often immediately perceptible, psychological violence—particularly in the lives of children whose parents have mental illness—tends to be far more elusive and difficult to name. In families affected by parental mental illness, children face an elevated risk of experiencing psychological violence; however, this form of abuse remains markedly underrepresented in research. Existing studies frequently prioritise themes such as resilience or coping strategies, whereas psychological violence, as an insidious and less readily discernible form of maltreatment, is rarely the central focus. The present study investigates how individuals who grew up with parents with mental illness narrate experiences of psychological violence in their biographical accounts, and explores the social, emotional, and cultural meanings they ascribe to these experiences. Drawing on eleven biographical interviews with adults aged 20 to&#xa0;35, all of whom had parents with mental illness during childhood, the study employs an interpretive hermeneutic approach that combines microstructural and systems analysis to examine participants’ portrayals of such violence. Findings indicate that respondents frequently did not recognise these experiences as psychological violence at the time, but rather perceived them as a&#xa0;“normal” feature of the parent–child relationship. It was only through reflective distance in adulthood that they came to identify these experiences as abuse—a&#xa0;realisation with profound implications for their self-concept, capacity to establish trust, and interpersonal relationships. The study underscores the urgent need to sensitise children at an early stage to the realities of psychological violence and emphasises that interventions for families affected by parental mental illness must address the specific relational dynamics of such abuse in order to provide needs-oriented support.</p>