Maggie, The first thing I would like to say is GOOD FOR YOU!!!! So many times it is hard for our partners to understand what we are going through. I commend you on wanting to help. It takes a lot of patience to be with someone that suffers from depression. It's hard to say what you can do for him for sure because each of us have a different "love language". But I can say from my own life, the best thing my husband can do is just be supportive and encouraging. Sometimes when I can't get out of bed, he just comes and lays down with me. He doesn't say anything, just spends time with me. I know one thing that doesn't help. That is thinking that "come on you can get past this" isn't as encouraging as you would think. It just makes us feel like we can help our feelings, and we aren't doing everything we can to get better. I hope some of this helps and makes some sense. Again, I commend you on wanting to be a part of your boyfriend's recovery!!! Kelly

Good Morning Maggie, The Depression Center offers personalized, interactive tools that have helped thousands of people challenge and overcome their depression. The core of the Depression Center is the Depression Program, an interactive, 16-session cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) course. We invite you and your boyfriend to read more about the program and tools, or if you are ready, go straight to the free registration. If you suspect you boyfriend might have depression, we encourage him to take our Depression Test. The Depression Test is a brief and anonymous screener that helps people and their health care professionals understand depressive and anxiety symptoms of their patients. When one is finished with the Depression Test they are presented with a Final Report that describes any symptoms of depression or anxiety that they may have. The Final Report can be emailed directly to their health care professional. Alternatively, a printer friendly version can be helpful to review during your appointment with your doctor. Your Final Report is stored in your Session Diary. If you and your boyfriend need further assistance please feel free to use our online support group. We hope our site has guided you in the right direction today. We wish you and your boyfriend success in seeking help and guidance. Take care, Melanie ___________________________ The DC Support Team

Hi, I'm 23 and although I do not have depression, my boyfriend of over 2 years does...he has not been diagnosed yet - I am still in the process of convincing him to make the first step in seeking professional help but after looking through this website, I'm even more certain he does suffer from depression. I dont know how to help him when he is feeling down - he has days where he is extremely low and very sad and other times he is ok, joking and laughing. I get really scared when he feels extremely low b/c he starts crying and nothing I can do/say helps. What can I do to help him seek professional help? How can I be there for him better? Any advice at all?