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This article documents how an innovative perspective on the concept of recovery is currently unfolding in the field of disability, from the points of view of research, support, or life with disability. In doing so, it thematizes the issue of recognition from these different perspectives. The article is based on data collected through mixed (quantitative and qualitative) multidisciplinary research (in social and medical sciences) designed to explore the pathways to and factors in the recovery of people living with severe psychiatric disorders. The main focus is on those people in the sample who have chosen to discuss recognition of their disability and the associated impacts. We begin by situating the principle of recovery and some of its contributions within the conceptual and practical frameworks of mental health care. We then propose a partly experiential reflection on the different stages that people affected with a mental disability can potentially go through to both recognize themselves and be recognized. In the last part of the article, we explore the way in which various forms of recognition of disability (social, administrative, psychological, etc.) can support or, on the contrary, hinder the empowerment of people working towards personal well-being and recovery.