What do I do when my husband is depressed?

Remember that being depressed is nothing people ask for and therefor nothing they should be held responsible for. Motivating your partner to spend more time outside, exercise, eat healthy and stick to their regular sleep pattern can be very helpful to make them feel better. Something that comes with depression is self hate or feeling worthless and ashamed. Giving you partner a bad conscience because they are unable to keep up their daily routine can worsen the problem. Let them feel that you understand that this is an ilness that needs time to get better, just like a broken leg.

You should talk to him and find out why he is depressed. If he is not willing to share, give it some time, but make sure to let him know he is free to talk to you about it.

This is so hard. For me I find that when my husband is depressed it pulls me into a funk too. I have to make a conscious decision to not let his moods affect me. If I can do that then we talk about his he is feeling. It took a while but with my love, encouragement and support he finally went to the doctor. It wasn't easy to get him there and it took a while. But for us, it just took me letting him know that it's okay if he needed help and it didn't make him any less than a man. Up until he was ready to see a doctor we just talked a lot.

Let him know you are there for him, that you want to help him and can come to you when he needs to. Provide him with resources about depression, or contacts for therapists/doctors/spiritual person if he wants to reach out somewhere else.

Be kind to him and be there for him.. His behavior might upset me but I'll be cheerful around him... I will try and talk to him about what is bothering him but will not force him to open up.. Give him space but always always be there... Show him that I love him :)

If you both have good communication skills, ask him something like, "I've noticed that you've been down lately. Would you like to talk about it?" If he wants to talk about things, try to keep your own personal feelings from it. Keep the conversation going by letting him know he is being heard. "So from what you're saying, you feel like you're not being appreciated at work. What is happened to make you feel that way?" Keep the questions going. Try to keep your feelings or any assumptions out of it. If he asks for what you think, always use an "I feel..." statement. As in, "I feel that you've been pretty tired when you've come home at night." Then offer a resolution that might fit the situation. "What can I do to help you relax when you come home?" Of course, being stressed about work is only one example, but focusing on him and his feelings, and making sure he feels he is being heard, is what can lift feelings. If you feel that this is an ongoing problem no matter the situation, ask his GP (regular doctor) to refer him to a psychiatrist. He could have depression that needs to be treated. General practitioners are not doctors that should be treating depression, so asking for that referral is best. I've personally been in this situation, so I wish anyone dealing with this the best of luck.

What you can do if your husband is depressed is to try to bring back old memories and also try to do fun things with him

Reach out to him. Remind him he isn't alone. Tell him you're there for him no matter what. Recommend he gets help i.e. from a doctor. His doctor can refer him to a therapist or give him anti depressants. Make sure he isnt alone through this.

You could hang out with him more often, have fun together and let him know that you're there for him.

Listen. Talk. Care. Respect. Offer to get him a therapist and medication to make him feel better. Talk positive.