When it comes to mental health/brain health, your family history matters. Scientific research has shown that having family members with depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, addictions, or dementia, increases your risk. Family-level factors may also influence the relationship between cognitive ability and risk of psychiatric disorder. Genetic factors could underpin both the impaired cognitive ability and the increased risk of mental disorders.