Unhealthy defense mechanisms like 'acting out' are often chosen because they offer an easier path compared to confronting internal issues.

“This is a person who did a lot of sublimation before, who now all of that's going into acting out. So they're not taking negative energy and doing something good with it. They're taking negative energy and doing things that are bad with it. Why? Because there's too much. There's a lot of negative energy. It's overwhelming everything else. And then it's going down these pathways where the unhealthy defenses are always beckoning us. Send the energy down here. It's easier to avoid than it is to face something and figure it out. It's easier to just act out than it is to hold what's inside of us and then think about why it's there.”