Hey Kristel,
Welcome to these forums, I hope you can find what you are looking for here.
The first thing I wanted to say is good on you for reaching out to seek help for you and your family. It can be so hard to ask for help, especially when you don't feel like you know much about your partner's mental health difficulties. Depression is really challenging on everybody and it is heartening to hear that you are trying to get help.
Can I ask whether you have both talked about ways you might be able to support him?
I suffered from depression quite badly a few years ago and my own experience may be different from your partner's, but one of the things I valued most was knowing that someone cared and that I mattered to them. There are many 'activities' that can help like going for walks, journaling, meeting friends or meditation, but they are things that I'd think of as being temporary (but important!) distractions from the underlying pain. The most important thing for me was knowing that, even though I didn't care about myself, someone else did (or seemed to).
Looking back in hindsight, I would probably suggest to you that it may sometimes feel like you aren't getting through or what you're doing isn't enough or isn't working or isn't being noticed. But in reality, just being there for him is one of the best things you can do as a partner; he will need to work things out for himself and, if he needs it and is willing, he can hopefully get someone who is not emotionally close to him but is trained to manage other people's mental illnesses, like a counsellor or psychologist.
Do you know if he currently sees one or has before?
James
