Although informal coercion is very present in the everyday life of service users, it is neither conceptually clear nor sufficiently represented in research. To gain insight from multiple perspectives, we conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 14 people with mental illness who have experienced coercive measures and 11 relatives of people with mental illness. We analyzed the data using grounded theory methodology and performed an empirically informed conceptual analysis.The analysis shows that the various communicative means subsumed under informal coercion cannot be considered in isolation, but that diverse contextual factors must be taken into account. For example, power imbalances and the possibility of the use of formal coercion play a crucial role in the perception of informal coercion. The inclusion of these contextual factors as well as non-verbal and implicit modes of interaction into our concept allows for a more comprehensive understanding and recommendations on how to reduce informal coercion.