We have said it before, aggression is the key to making money and winning poker. Defensive play is not a good overall game plan: you won't win playing this way, but like playing loose, or weak bluffing, it is sometimes a useful tactic for hand by hand use.
You don't lose by going all in on trash. Generally, there's no drama involved in a clean beat. You were losing chips all throughout the game and were eventually left with nothing. You might not even have noticed where all your chips were going until it was too late.