Wouldn’t being brainwashed to do something that’s not in your best interest be a subconscious defence?

I’ve learned about this kind of thing in my philosophical and psychological learnings. As in, self sabotage being a defence or learned behaviour that becomes a repetition compulsion. Often to placate or avoid problems with some authoritarian(s) in one’s past. The behaviour becomes incorporated into the personality as a helpful defence at the time, to survive, but later the formation hinders one’s healthy or positive progress in life. It then needs to be revisited to understand the origins, in order to break the self sabotaging behaviour and live a more authentic life.