Michael J. Fox isn’t going to stay away from the topic of Parkinson’s on his new sit-com, “The Michael J. Fox Show.” Michael J. Fox is continuing to keep it in the dialogue by making his Parkinson's disease a part of the plot line.

That means that Michael J. Fox has been opening up about his history with the disease. Michael J. Fox told Howard Stern that when he was first got the Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in 1991, he was thrown by the news, which coincided with his father’s death and other family struggles. Michael J. Fox began to cop by “self-medicating.”

On the Howard Stern-hosted show, Michael J. Fox said "My first reaction to it was to start drinking heavily. I used to drink to party, but then I was drinking alone...Every day."

It took therapy for Michael J. Fox to learn coping mechanisms for the emotional affects of the diagnosis.

Michael J. Fox said "It was about a year of a knife fight in a closet, where I just didn't have my tools to deal with it. But then after that I went to therapy, and it all started to get really clear to me."

The counseling also helped Michael J. Fox’s marriage to wife Tracy Pollan. He said "My marriage got great. And my career started to [take off again]."

“The Michael J. Fox Show” premieres tonight at 9 on Thursday on NBC.