The association between alcoholism and affective disorders is complex and has fomented much debate. Problems occur because of confusion in definitions (e.g., the distinction between drinking and alcoholism on the one hand and sadness and major affective disorders on the other) and because sadness and even intense temporary secondary affective episodes are often seen in the course of alcoholism. The author notes five possible factors contributing to the confusion between these two disorders and points out several ways to approach the problems of patients who have more than one concurrent clinical syndrome. Using the data from a literature review, he concludes that alcoholism and affective disorder appear to be independent diseases with some overlap in clinical symptoms.