Article - Milwaukee M-Magazine

Milwaukee M-Magazine – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
February Issue 2007

Short Takes – Head Games
Story by Martin Hintz/Photography by Corey Hengen

Matthew Nichols is finding his voice, and helping others as he does. Challenged for the past two decades with bipolar disorder, a long-term illness illustrated by wild mood swings, the 37-year-old Waukesha teacher is producing a feature movie in Milwaukee, "Bipolar," whose main character also has the disorder, and has written a book, "15-Minutes At A Time," a 15-piece collection of poems, stories, and sketches focusing on his self-discovery and how he deals with his disorder.

He's also speaking out about the disease, willing to talk with anyone, anywhere. Bipolar disorder affects 5 million people in the United States and usually hits young people between 15 and 24 years old. Nichols was affected most seriously as a freshman at UW-Oshkosh; he tried to kill himself at age 18, but a group of upperclassmen found and helped him. Another meltdown occurred after transferring to UW-Whitewater, which caused him to leave school for a short time. Despite this setback, he returned and earned a degree in elementary education.

Through the support of his 7-year-old son, friends and parents, Bob and Carol Nichols –whom he calls his "best friends" – as well as medicine and counseling, Nichols has been successfully coping with his health situation and succeeding in his career. He has been teaching second grade at Hadfield Elementary School in Waukesha for the past two years. He can now recognize what triggers the extreme highs and lows that are part of the disease, and take steps to deal with them. "It's not a handicap, it's what you make of it," he says.

Nichols launched Polarity Media Productions on New Year's Day 2006, but the gist of the film had been around since 2002. Wanting to bring the story of bipolar disorder to a wider audience, he began writing a screenplay. Nichols researched the independent film market for opportunities to bring the story the big screen and found Dan Kattman and Drew Maxwell of Lightning Rod Studios, who are shooting and editing the movie. Nichols is playing the lead because, "I'm comfortable with the story and I know the lines", he laughs.