Does the act make one lose their mind and subsequently become mentally ill, or does the mental illness precede the act? Same thing applies to murder cases, kidnap cases etc. I actually think it could be both (based off of experiences of loved ones). I think with Murder usually the murderer loses their mind in carrying out the act, and with suicide, it maybe more that mental illness precedes the act. who knows though. I'm sure there are cases of both and everything in between. I can't stand it though people make dumb decisions that harm or kill others, and are given more lenient sentencing because of mental illness (in murder, kidnapping, rape cases).