Need help; why am I always on defense?

I'm about ~1150 rating, and I always find myself defending my king from an onslaught of attacks. Whether or not I can defend successfully, it annoys me that I am always on the defensive. I was hoping I could get some insight on one of my games: http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=388457105

better example: http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=388406451

From the link http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=388406451

Move 8 you castled.  But look at the board.  He already has a bishop pointing at g2, and the h-file is open and he already has a rook on it.  That's just begging for a kingside attack.  

On move 12, you hang your bishop - if you're down material, it's much harder to attack.

Also, you took a very long time to develop your queenside pieces.  If you want to attack, you need to get your material out first.  If all you have out is one bishop, you aren't going to be able to do much.  (Compare that with the FIRST game you linked, which you won, where by move 8 your bishops and knights are all out and you've castled.)

BETTER EXAMPLE LINK:


You were fine until you played 7. cxb7.  Remember that if you're going to play materialistically you have to be prepared to defend - that is probably the biggest advice I have for you.  Here's how it could have played out if you played a better move

I'm not proclaiming these variations to be sound or the best for either side but the gist of it is, Black has a bad position as long as White plays actively.