Detachment

Can one be so traumatised by events and experiences that one loses the ability to feel, to empathise?
Is it possible that after having been exposed and seen too much of illness and death, you stop feeling altogether?

This disturbs me greatly... Is it yet another sign I have become so self-absorbed and ceased to care about anything else but my own being and my own protection? Is this another natural process  of grief and the mind's way of dealing with trauma?

It disturbs me greatly. 
I do not want to go through life not being able to feel and being numb when someone is telling about how their loved one is suffering.