My sister and my neice we suspect my father also are Bi-Polar. We are all different in our manifestation of symptoms so I don't think I could answer that. We all have to understand our own situation and encourage others when and if we can. Good luck and the fact that you sought out this fourm and are trying to find answers tells a greatdeal about you, and the probbilities of your success with your goal of helping your husband.

KUDOS TO YOU!!! Thank you for wanting to find out more information and understand this illness. A lot of people who don't have it, don't want to know. Your husband is a very lucky man!!
Your husband probably is as puzzled as you at least at times, and it often seems like it is the environment, not his mood, that is so changeable and unpredictable. So be patient!!
I think the best way to be helpful, is to learn (I still have to learn this) to ask him what he needs instead of offering suggestions - even making suggestions in the form of a question will feel less intrusive.
ie: Instead of saying, "Go for a walk, it will get your mind off things" you could say, "Do you think going for a walk would help you get your mind off things?" That way, he won't feel like he's being told what to do, he can still decide for himself.

Go on the web and start reading about it.

Go to the library and check some books out.

Learn more about BiPolar behavior.

When I first started going out with my partner who has bipolar, we made a time to visit his psych so that I could ask questions and get a bit of an understanding of what bipolar meant for my partner. That really helped a lot. What also helped was identifying the behaviour patterns that seemed to reoccur.