He needs motivation. Telling him he must get up probably won't help. Have you been cooking and serving nice meals to him? How are you getting to the store for groceries. I've been where your husband is at. Hunger sometimes gets me out of bed. I have no one to cook for me.

Think about how you may be helping him stay comfortable in his depressed state. Maybe back off of some of that. Bipolar disorder is a chronic condition. It's not his fault that he has this disorder, but it is his responsibility to work on managing his condition. That means him making a plan. He could start slow and commit to stting up for 2 hrs a day. Don't bring him meals in bed. He deserves compassion. Unfortunately, no one can fix things for him.

Maybe some Al-Anon principles would work here. Don't revolve your day around paying attention to his depression. Try to do things you enjoy. Try to get out of the house as many days as you can. Maybe ask a friend to take you somewhere. He needs to get bored with his depression. Don't overly cater to him.

Is there any 24 hour pattern to what he does? Many depressives want to sleep till late in the day, but, then, want to talk late at night. (I get that way, myself.) Try to minimize conversation after 10 p.m.

I think you have to experiment and see what helps. Ultimately, if a person wants to surrender to the depression and take a swan dive into nothingness, you are powerless to stop him. Then you decide what is best for you. It would be okay for you to say, "I'm willing to help you get through these hard days, but that means you have to be working on recovering also. Each night you need to commit to one thing you'll do the next day. We can start slow and go slow." Depression may not be a choice, but, at some point, wallowing in it is. If he had type 1 diabetes, he'ld have to do certain things to manage his disease - check his blood sugar, use insulin, stick to a food plan. Or he could ignore all that and his health would deteriorate quickly. Chronically recurring depression needs just as much vigilance and careful management. Or he can decide to be helpless. Then he's a lost cause. Life isn't fair, but it tends to reward effort. Where no effort is made, no reward will be had. Your husband is very lucky to have a loving partner wanting to be supportive. My guess is that he takes you for granted.