Social inclusion through work in the process of minimizing social stigma related to diseases

In order to reflect on the importance of social inclusion through work in reducing the social stigma related to diseases, this article presents the narrative of three users of Retrate (Rehabilitation, Work and Art) who attend workshops to generate employment and income in the city of Pelotas, Southern Brazil. These users suffer from prejudice and discrimination because of a depressive disorder. Based on the theoretical contributions of Erving Goffman and using the methodological proposal brought by the sociology of everyday life and by oral history, the result shows that social inclusion through work is the primary means for the positivization of the identity of people suffering from mental disorders and to reduce the social stigma related to the disease. By feeling recognized for their work and by conceiving the group as a "family", their low self-esteem and feelings of abnormality, fear and worthlessness are visibly minimized.