Reach Out Online

4800 pages ! Reach Out has been in existences for over 20 years 12 issues per year and the average of 20 pages per issue. Wow thats a lot of writing but the most impressive aspect is what was contained within those pages.

The authors of the articles shared their happiness their sadness in the form of prose and poems. They shared their psych hospitalizations, portions of their therapy sessions, hopes fears and dream in much of their writings. Why would they do that? Because they feel that by sharing their lives that they can support others in this community. and maybe to get them to laugh about the insane instances that happen in our daily lives.

I these last twenty years I have been challenged by one or a few people on what I put in the newsletter. Many of them bring tears of laughter because of their content. One year when I was just starting with reach out I had placed and imange on trhe cover of the White Rock Soda Ferry on the cover. Being that the little character that has been printed on millios of soda cans was topless we put a giant censored bar across her breasts. Another time I was admonished for putting Chanukah before christmas within a holiday issue and made it ten times worse because I dared to even mention the pagan winter solstice.

Reach Out had to debate for day weather to allow a poem that contained the word shit in it. I won’t even go into the number of admonishment we received when we published our april fools Retch Out Edition. If you are not familiar with the Retch Out Issue it is the on we do where the writers are asked to look beyond the serious and just write silly things that make most people laugh at mental illness. It is a great way to roll our eyes and chuckle because in treatment, hospital setting, and when we are around others it is not politically correct for us to poke fun of ourselves our environment or situation because it makes the “un-touched” uncomfortable.

This year as with all the past twenty issues, someone (s) got bent out of shape about something they read in what’s suppose to be a funny issue. As the editor of the the newsletter I would like to apologize to those people who chose to be offended by what they read. After all these years I hope the can accept that there is nothing written in the newsletter in malice or with the intent to hurt anyone’s feelings.

My purpose in writing on this issue is in the hopes that the individuals who reacted negatively, the staff who responded to the issue and everyone reading it will give my statement some thought and write in to Reach Out with their own thoughts.

So, what happens when you throw fecal matter against a high speed fan?


Well fist of all you get a lot on you because you are standing by it.

What happened next blew me out of the bath water. From what I understand happened was the clinic pulled removed every issue off the shelve. I was on the crisis unit during this time and had noticed that there were no Retch Outs there either but I assumed that the had simply ran out of copies and I had made a mental not to be sure to give them more copies next month. My friends are asking me do I blame the clinic or hospital for doing this and my answer has to be NO this time. The clinic merely took the matched away from the little ones who were setting the fires and saying see what I can do?

However I have to also say that the clinical staff is missing out on an opportunity to use this as a tool and show their patient that there are healthy ways of dealing with their feelings rather than handing them over to the clinician and saying “fix this now or I will scream”. I know that in AA, NA, and many therapy models it is imperative that we all take responsibility for our own feelings and thoughts. If someone in AA or NA could blame ads for their diseases it would be so easy but it would fail them in a heartbeat. Instead they are taught to take the reasonability of the feelings and pass by that bar.

In all the groups I attend I am told that it is my job and no one else’s for the feeling I choose to have and what I do with them. Right now I have to deal with the feelings of hurt and anger for all the personal investments I have made in the newsletter. I have to deal with the knoledge that I may be hurting someone elses feelings just by writing this.

I have to wonder if my new PROS clinician is going to NOT tell me something that may help me because I a fear that it would snowball like this garbage. Now that you are reading it, you might have to ask yourself the same thing. (tell me that doesn’t suck).

I can’t get over the fact that this resulted in the Issue being removed from the clinic/hospital. Not only did it take away from the smile that someone could have had from reading the one article but that every word in that issue was SILENCED.

So what’s next. As the editor I have to take all this into consideration. At the VERY least I can no longer ask the RO staff to put themselves in the line of fire over this. I have to consider the fact that every future issue will be scrutinized in the search for disturbing jokes statements or thoughts.

Do I have to concern myself with every possibility? Do I block articles about gay authors, do I block articles about Judaism, Christianity or any other spiritually so I dont offend someone of a different belief. Would it be best for me to step away now ratherthan be a participant in the taking away of people’s right to voice their thoughts?

Are we allowed to write about suicide, medication and treatment because it might “bother someone”. Should the hospital take away the newspapers that have upsetting news in them. How about magazines that promote being thin because its is a major adverse issue for people with eating disorders. Get rid of the chocolate milk searves at meals because we are mentally ill and can’t make choices for ourselves. I really don’t see an end to it. Loosing your voice is a horrible thing. Having it taken away is a demoralizing thing but worst of all “giving it away” is unforgivable. Don’t give your voice away.!

Already I see signs of the fear this is causing. The absolute best example is that I found out about all this via CNN ( Consumer News Network). For those of you not familar CNN is the gossip circle that runs through out mental health system, When consumers cant get a straight answer or one with enough information it gets passed on though this gossip chain. It is often distorted from that teliphone game effect.

Unfortunately it is the only way we find out about what is happening to us because it is beilived we cant handle it, they dont know themselves and will not admitt they are playing it by ear like the rest of us or its consided not necessary to tell us because they are taking care of us.

So fellow consumers, there it is in a NUT shell. For tenety years Reach Out has been asking you to write us and share your ideas, thoughts or anything you consider worth sharing. For almost all of those years you have remained silent.

We have all watched as Ellis Hospital has taken away our Social Club, treated us like second class citizen while billing us just as much as any patient in the hospital. We ask ourselves what have I done wrong and we get no answer. So if we choose to remain silent and listen to the death rattle of our mental health system it is on us.