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"what of people who do benefit, personally, from a paradigm that does empower them to see "illness" as being something they "have" and not who they are?"

I think a lot of stigma is due to the fact that many people are subjected to labeling, for instance, as being bipolar, and that is how people define them. They aren't seen as another person just like me or you, but rather as a bipolar person. It can be very alienating, which is terrible because people, not just those who are mentally "ill", need to know that they are not alone in their experiences. It's just part of the human condition to search for others so as not to feel so alone.

Also, I think it's interesting to listen to the words people use when describing someone who has a mental "illness". Do they suffer from something, do they have something, is it who they are? I use all of them without giving it much thought...