Stengel makes some interesting comments on the interaction of depression and obsessive-compulsion syndromes to show that the depression may aggravate or unmask obsessional symptoms and that the obsessional personality structure may be an integrating influence on the depressive personality. Atypical states are better understood and prognosis more accurate if these mechanisms are known, especially in borderline conditions. It is to be regretted that Stengel confined himself to such a brief communication.