What Severance Taught Me About Myself.
Watching Severance made me realize something: compartmentalizing my life was costing me more than it saved, and integrity was the key to real growth.
When Adam Scott first appeared on Parks and Rec as the lovable, awkward Ben Wyatt, I instantly felt connected.
Something about his quiet authenticity hit home, and I've been following his work ever since.
But nothing prepared me for Severance.
This show didn't just grab my attention; it reignited my love for storytelling, filmmaking, and the anticipation of waiting each week to watch it with my wife.
Severance's central premise felt disturbingly relatable.
Severance's central premise, a surgical procedure that splits your consciousness between work and personal life, felt disturbingly relatable.
For years, without realizing it, I had tried to perform my own version of this severance.
I kept parts of myself separate, compartmentalizing my struggles, thoughts, and experiences depending on who I was talking to or where I was.
It felt like survival, but in reality, it was exhausting, lonely, and ultimately unsustainable.
“Every time you find yourself here, it’s because you chose to come back.” — Harmony Cobel, Head of Macrodata Refinement at Lumon
Integrity is about being consistently authentic.
I learned the hard way that integrity isn't just about honesty.
It's about being whole, consistently authentic, and not hiding behind constructed identities.
Attempting to sever parts of my life only fragmented my identity and mental health further.
The anxiety, depression, and loneliness only deepened until I realized the real key to survival, and growth, was integrity across all areas of my life.
Here's the truth:
Hiding, lying by omission, or carefully curating our identity to fit expectations creates an internal fracture.
Mental health thrives on cohesion and authenticity, and genuine relationships and success depend on this integrated self.
Severance beautifully illustrates the damage done by splitting our lives into neatly divided segments, but reality isn't television; we can't surgically remove uncomfortable truths or challenging emotions.
Actionable steps to move towards integrity and healing.
If you're caught in the cycle of personal severance:
Here are 4 actionable steps you can take right now to move towards integrity and healing:
Acknowledge your compartmentalization: Identify the ways you're presenting a fragmented version of yourself to others and why.
Practice intentional authenticity: Begin sharing small, genuine parts of yourself that you've previously kept hidden.
Establish trusted connections: Cultivate relationships where you can safely explore and express your whole self without fear of judgment.
Reflect regularly: Journal or meditate to understand your feelings, patterns, and behaviors that reinforce compartmentalization.
Integrity isn't comfortable at first, but it's liberating.
Watching Severance each week with my wife, I'm reminded why storytelling matters; it shows us not just who we could be but who we already are beneath the surface.
And in reclaiming our wholeness, we find true strength.
Great piece! Your emphasis on compartmentalization mirrors my own reflection on the way that the show illustrates psycho analytic concepts related to fragmentation and alienation. Thanks!
I used to compartmentalize my life in so many ways, adopting a different persona depending on who I was with or the room I was in. It was indeed exhausting and it left me depleted of a sense of sense. I’m trying to practice more authenticity in my relationships, but it can be hard to know when you’re doing “too much” and overhearing. Starting with small moments of authenticity is great advice. Thanks for writing this!