The concept of cyberpsychosis plays a crucial role in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners because those who get too invested in cybernetic enhancements usually don't live long to tell the tale, as all that extra chrome genuinely messes with their mental health. The first noticeable symptoms include uncontrollable shaking accompanied by a bloody nose or three, before their brain suddenly switches tracks and they inevitably go on a chromed-up killing spree. Already in possession of lethal weaponry, the cyberpsycho is incapable of discerning reality from hallucinations, causing the inflected to go on a blood-soaked frenzy and mow down everyone in their path.
" You either lose yourself forever, or die. No in-betweens. "
Considering that the cyberpsycho has lost all sense of rationality means that convincing them to cease the carnage is unlikely to be effective, and the symptoms are apparently irreversible, meaning there is no known cure. As in Maine's case (and several others), a cyberpsycho will collect corpses with no recognition of their actions, show little remorse, and with no end in sight, there is just one option left for authorities. Unfortunately, the only way to get the situation under control is if the cyberpsycho stops breathing, permanently. The well-equipped NCPD and Trauma Team are always on standby with brutal firepower to ensure a fatal outcome for the rampaging cyborgs.
Taking Preventative Measures
David's cyberpsychosis seemed inevitable from the beginning, but are any of the Edgerunners truly safe once they start transitioning into cyborgs? While this dissociative disorder may be irreversible, it is possible to delay its onset with specialized medication. To stop the host's body from rejecting the cyberware implant (or worse), they must constantly take immunoblockers to nullify, or at least lessen, the undesirable side effects. Additional implants require more immunoblockers, and the dosage must increase according to the frequency with which they are used, and the closer its user gets to go off the deep end.
The fact that constant immunoblockers are required in the first place suggests that death-by-cyberpsychosis is inevitable. Immuniblockers are not intended for long-term use as they essentially affect the immune system, suggesting that the user's life expectancy is not long. The Cyberpunk 2077 game discloses that cyberpsychosis can result from faulty cyberware if inefficient installation surgeries, so high-class citizens are less susceptible to this affliction. Those above the poverty line also have access to more advanced medication and may be less likely to find a doctor who is willing to overload their system with hardware. As for the Edgerunners, however, their fate appears to have been sealed from the get-go.
The Edgerunners Vs. Cyberpsychosis
The Edgerunners take pride in putting the punk in Cyberpunk by representing the alternative, wild anarchist types who emerge from the underbelly of Night City. But are their rowdy, destructive, thrill-seeking ways natural character traits that each possessed before getting implants, or amplified because of the enhancements? Is the lack of elderly cyborgs due to their dangerous lifestyles or are their precarious life choices and aversion to self-preservation actually side effects from all the additional implants? Rebecca and Pilar could hardly be considered stable; Ripperdoc is a whole other story; and Kiwi, Dorio, and Falco's sanity are questionable. They were all probably on a downward spiral towards death or psychosis from the first moment they chromed up.
David clearly began his rebellious lifestyle early on, with a morbid curiosity and a natural talent for rulebreaking, but his mother keeps him somewhat under control however, things begin to escalate as soon as the Sandevistan gets installed. Ripperdoc can't believe how well David's body copes (especially considering he isn't given any immunoblockers initially), which feeds further into the youngster's Chuunibyou complex. As soon as David inherits Maine's hand and begins piling on the cyberware, he begins his one-way trip to Loonytown. He pushes his body beyond its limits, and even though Lucy has some effect on David, he is, unfortunately, a lost cause by then.
Chrome Addicts
When David first got his hands on the Sandevistan his sole focus was on selling the equipment, but once he tasted its power, he is immediately hooked. With an invincible mentality comparable to that of a drug addict, David keeps adding chrome until the point of no return, barely hesitating before leaping into the Cyber Skeleton. While his authentic personality was always quite volatile, it is evident that David's cyberware affect his mental health even before the cyberpsychosis set in, and his fatal diagnosis was inevitable in the end.
Considering the fact that all the Edgerunners share similar adrenaline-junkie attributes could indicate that they are each fighting a silent battle against their chrome addiction. Viewers watch Maine unnecessarily bulk up with cyberware with little concern for his own health (or Dorio's safety), even after the first shaky symptoms present themselves. Instead of slowing his pace, or maybe downgrading a bit, Maine keeps at it like a junkie with a death wish, suggesting that their fearless leader lost control many moons ago.
Luck Be A Lady
Lucy is arguably the only one who ever stood a chance of evading this fatal "disease," as she was thrown into the deep end at a remarkably young age, and somehow managed to survive. Lucy has likely built up a tolerance or resistance to the side effects of cyberware over time and shows no desire to excessively chrome up.
She is the only one to take Maine's death as a well-deserved wake-up call and decide to break away from the volatile lifestyle, whereas the others seem set even further in their self-destructive ways. Yes, Lucy was still working undercover to try and save David, but she chose to err on the side of caution and was not lured into fixing things by adding more chrome. Lucy evidently lacks the addictive quality that apparently comes with cyberware and might be able to live out her life to a ripe old age.