Having recently come out of a six-month period of unemployment, I can relate to what you're going through. It was stressful. But we did see some positives come out of it for our family. husband was able to serve as assistant coach for easy child's soccer team because he was always home. He got to help transport kids to and from school because he was home. He got to help with their homework, meals, bedtimes, because he was home. It really was a nice experience for him, for them, and for me as well. It also taught husband a valuable lesson about frugality, and although he still splurges occasionally, he is much more aware of his spending, and tries to do without or do less expensively than he ever did before.
That said, I hope your husband is able to find some positives during his "break" from work. If he's not aware of it already, LinkedIn.com is a valuable networking site for people looking for work. You can post your resume and other relevant information, and connect with others in your industry and even from your former employer. Headhunters comb through it looking for prospects frequently, and it allowed husband to connect with others from his company who were also laid off and keep tabs on where they landed. He ultimately got hired by a former colleague at a new company.
My advice would be to take a short vacation -- even if it's a "stay"-cation, to allow your husband time to mentally decompress, because he won't have the opportunity to do that once he starts working again. (It's been an adjustment for us to go from 5 weeks of vacation a year to a zero balance!) Then he needs to get up each day like he's going to work and spend at least 4-6 hours actively working on his job search. It will give him a sense of control over his day, even if there are no leads for a little while. Eventually, the networking will pay off.
