The Expression 'Reaching Out'

As a last thought before I get some shut eye, another American expression which I had almost never heard of but which seems to be popping up more and more as I deal with Americans more frequently is the expression 'reaching out'. Specifically, the expression was used when referring to making contact with an American magazine. The email came back 'Thanks for reaching out to us'. It is very similar to the word 'epic' which younger Americans seem to also use very liberally. My question is 'is this a subculture use of an expression and indicative of a demographic or is this an epidemic that has spread across all the states of America?' The thought that every time I contact someone I am 'reaching out' really disturbs me because the only time I want to 'reach out' to somebody is when I am depressed and calling a lifeline or else being handed a life float from a lifeguard. This new bastardised form of the term, to me is on par with another term I like to use but in a different context and that is 'reach around'. In fact, I would venture to say that people who use the term 'reach out' too loosely and commonly can give me a 'reach around'. As for 'epic', I would like to reserve that term for watching a David Lean film.